Prescription for Love
by Explodingsushi15
Summary: Irie Kana is a fully-fledged physician and she loves her job. After performing a successful open-heart surgery, she is transferred to Tonan University General Hospital. There she finds her beloved cousin, Irie Naoki, who is also a doctor. But little does she know, fellow doctor Nishigaki Touma has his eye set out for her and would do anything to woo her.
1. Meet Dr Irie Kana

Tonan University General Hospital is buzzing with life as always. The nurses swiftly walked down the hallways, tending to their patients and getting papers signed. However, there's one nurse that stood out from the rest.

"Coming through!" Irie Kotoko cried as she ran down the halls pushing a medicine cart. The people standing around quickly hurled towards the edges to dodge the clumsy nurse.

"Irie-san!" a female voice cried. Kotoko jumped and quickly stopped, but she let go of the cart and it crashed against the wall. She meekly turned to the head nurse, Shimizu Reiko. She was a tall and slender woman who always had her hair in a tight bun.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to run in the hallways?" she glared at the young girl. Kotoko smiled weakly and bowed. "Sorry ma'am, it won't happen again,"

After recovering the cart, Kotoko calmly strolled into the nurses' station.

"I'm back…" she mumbled, her eyes downcast. However, she felt heavy stares, which made her look up at her colleagues. They rushed over to her before she could speak.

"Kotoko-chan; does Dr. Irie have a sister?" Motoki or Moto-chan asked her. He was his usual self, wearing a fair amount of makeup and his hair was a curly black and his eyes a sparkling onyx. Kotoko blinked. "Eh?"

"Does he have a sister?" Marina repeated the question. Her bright red hair framed her face and cascaded down her back and her eyes were a dark brown.

Kotoko blinked again. "Not that I know of, why?"

"Look," Tomoko handed her a piece of paper in which had a small hole on the top, meaning it was thumb-tacked to the nurse's bulletin board. Tomoko was as innocent looking as always with her curled blonde hair and hazel eyes.

Kotoko took the paper and scanned her eyes through it. She gasped as she took in the information written upon it.

"Irie Kana?" Kotoko said aloud. "She's being transferred to our department."

"Exactly!" Moto-chan said. "Could it be just a coincidence?"

"She performed a successful open-heart surgery," Kotoko said in surprise. "And that's why she's being transferred to our hospital."

"Well, they have to at least be _related_," Marina snatched the paper from her clumsy friend's hands. "Only someone related to Dr. Irie can perform an emergency open-heart surgery so perfectly."

"Don't overestimate Irie-kun," Kotoko said humbly. Her husband has enough weight on his shoulders. "Besides, you know he's still Dr. Nishigaki's assistant."

"What's this talk about me?" said a smooth voice from the doorway. The nurses turned their heads to see none other than Dr. Nishigaki Touma. He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. His hair was a shiny, wavy black and his square glasses framed his sparkling gray eyes, giving him a scholarly appearance. A broad smirk was spread across his handsome features.

"Dr. Nishigaki!" they said in surprise, making his smirk widen. He stood properly on his feet and placed his hands on his hips, making his lab coat roll back and rest just behind his wrists.

"I heard my name," he raised a curious brow, his smirk failing to cease. "Which means you lovely ladies had to be speaking of me…" he trailed off to glanced at Moto-chan. His eyebrows furrowed, making the tan skin between them wrinkle. "And I'm not talking to you, no offense; I don't go for—"

"_Don't_ you say it, doctor!" Moto-chan flushed. He raised his hands in defeat and chuckled. "Alright; I won't," he smirked at the other female nurses. "Back to our previous conversation; you ladies said my name?"

"We weren't talking about you, doctor!" Kotoko said with embarrassment. "We were talking about Dr. Irie—"

"Ah yes, the famous name: Dr. Irie Naoki," he stuffed his hands into his beige slacks' pockets and shrugged. "Yet with all the fame, I don't understand why he treats his beautiful wife so coldly," his eyes gave out a flirtatious spark, making Kotoko blush.

"Dr. Nishigaki," said a familiar, stern voice from the door. Nishigaki's shoulders tensed at the voice and his smirk went crooked as the younger doctor known as Dr. Irie Naoki stepped up next to him; his face stoic as ever. His short gray-brown hair fell over his light gray eyes. "How many times have I told you not to speak to my wife in such a manner?"

"Relax Irie," Nishigaki responded casually, shrugging. "I was merely filling up the gaps _you_ fail to fill."

"What are you even doing here?" Irie fought to keep his temper down. He knew the older doctor was just trying to make him flip his lid. He flirted with _all_ the nurses, making Kotoko no different from all the others. Besides, Irie knew she was too in love with him (and ditsy) to look at Nishigaki as a possible husband or lover. Irie, as much as he respects his boss, can never stand his flirting and "jumping from woman to woman" habits. He, however, has to admit Nishigaki makes up for it by being a great doctor.

"I just needed to pick up some reports here," the man quickly fabricated with a smirk. Oh, how he loves to tease his assistant.

"I doubt it," Irie countered swiftly. Nishigaki could only chuckle. Taking this time, Kotoko stepped up to her husband and handed him the paper. "Irie-kun, do you know this girl? She's being transferred here from another hospital."

As he took the paper however, Nishigaki quickly snatched it out of his hands. Nevertheless, Irie's expression remained composed as the older man read through it, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

"Wow," he whistled. "The girl performed emergency open-heart surgery, that's fascinating!" he smirked and his eyes lit up with that well-known, flirtatious spark. "And she's being transferred to _our_ department meaning she'll be the _only_ female doctor in the department!"

"What's her name?" Irie asked rather sharply. The older man chuckled as he handed his assistant the paper. "See for yourself."

Irie took the paper, this time holding it away from Nishigaki as he read through it. As he did, his eyes slowly began to widen and his jaw slacked. "Kana?"

"You know her, Irie-kun?" Kotoko asked. The young doctor looked up from the paper, his eyes still wide from shock. "Of course; she's my cousin."

"This should be interesting," Nishigaki chuckled. "Is she as cold-hearted as you?"

Irie ignored his comment and blinked as his head flashed memories and thoughts. Irie Kana was his older cousin; well, older by a day. They were born the same year, same month; only she was born the day before he was; a fabulous coincidence for two cousins that got along like they were fraternal twins and then some. They would play together, study together and just talk together. They were inseparable.

"Irie-kun, are you ok?" Kotoko asked worryingly. Irie blinked out of his trance and handed her the paper. He composed himself as he spoke. "She starts tomorrow apparently; she probably doesn't even know I'm working in the same department,"

"I doubt it," Nishigaki mocked his earlier comeback. "The name _Irie_ runs hot in this hospital."

Irie glared at the older doctor, who returned it with a meek stifle of laughter. Feeling he couldn't repress his annoyance anymore, the novice doctor turned on his heels and quickly made his way out of the nurses' station. At the doorway, he nearly bumped into Kamogari Keita who was carrying a stack of files. Irie quickly collected himself and swiftly made his way past the man, muttering a simple, "Excuse me."

Keita blinked at this, his eyes watching the doctor speed-walk down the hall. He turned to look into the nurses' station only to see Kotoko, Tomoko, Marina and Moto-chan with dumbfounded expressions and Dr. Nishigaki standing there with a teasing grin, hands in his slacks' pockets. The male nurse raised an eyebrow, his usual long black hair picked up in a low ponytail and brown eyes betraying his level of confusion. "Can someone explain what just happened?"

"We're very honored to have such a prodigy working in our department," the man who was assigned to give the tour of the hospital smiled. Irie Kana grinned as well. She didn't consider herself a prodigy. Sure, she's performed a good few successful surgeries like her recent one but she's still a doctor that needs to eat and sleep and, like any other physician, the stress levels couldn't get any higher.

"Do you have any questions?" the man asked. Kana nodded. "You said earlier there was another Irie working here in this department?" _It can't be Naoki_, Kana thought to herself. _I never pictured a guy like him being a doctor!_

"Ah yes," the man grinned. "He's considered a prodigy like yourself even though he's still a novice."

"What's his name?"

"Dr. Irie Naoki," the man answered. "Are you related?"

"Yes, he's my younger cousin," she smiled. The man nodded and smiled. "I see; now we have two Iries working in this department. It's going to be quite confusing!"

"I bet," Kana laughed. The man then told her she could walk around and get to know the nurses and her colleagues before she starts working tomorrow, and maybe even find her cousin. Kana took the opportunity, and began walking around the hallways.

_Naoki-chan a doctor_, Kana laughed. _What the hell got into him? He does have the potential though._

"Kana!"

Kana stopped at the hearing of her name and turned. Her eyes widened and her lips tugged at a big grin upon seeing her younger-by-a-day cousin running towards her. He had changed a lot since she'd left to another high school in Tokyo. His face has gotten the masculine edge to it and his eyes have turned much more mature; he's still as handsome as ever.

"Hey Naoki-chan!" Kana beamed happily as he finally caught up to her. "I can't believe you went on to be a doctor! I thought you were going to take Uncle Shigeki's company."

"I was but I changed my mind," he told her. Kana grinned happily and pulled her beloved cousin into a hug. He hugged back. "I missed you a lot, Kana," he told her.

"I missed you too," Kana parted the hug and smiled. Irie gave her a small smile. He always felt happy when his cousin was around; even though he's always cold and stern, he can never find the heart to act like that around Kana. She's been there for him through thick and thin, and vice-versa. He remembers he was devastated when she left to another high school in Tokyo. It was a boarding school that taught only the most intelligent teenagers and he remembers how jealous he was when she got the application and not him but he laughs to this day about that. She called his family from time to time but it was never really the same.

"I heard you performed an emergency open-heart surgery successfully," Irie smirked. Kana blushed in embarrassment. "The old woman was seventy-one years old and having heart attacks by the hour; don't give me so much credit."

"Congratulations," he told her. Kana playfully punched his arm. "Enough about me; look at you! With your fancy doctor clothes!"

"You're going to wear this too," he raised an eyebrow, a small smirk plastered on his features. Kana laughed. "But I never pictured you as a doctor; I always thought you were going to take the company,"

"Kotoko made me change my mind," he said absentmindedly. Kana however, caught his words.

"Kotoko?" she raised an eyebrow and noticed her cousin blushed a bit.

"Kotoko's my wife," he muttered almost inaudibly, but Kana's eyes went wide as saucers.

"You're kidding me! You're a doctor _and_ you got married?" she crossed her arms over her chest. "The world must be coming to an end!"

"She's a nurse here," Irie rolled his eyes at her statement. "You can meet her, come." He walked down the hallway, leading Kana to the nurses' station.

"Kotoko," Irie called into the room. Kana watched as young girl popped into her field of vision, along with four other nurses, two girls and two boys, but one of the boys was oddly femininely enhanced.

"What's wrong Irie-kun?" the girl's eyes went wide upon seeing Kana with him. "Is this…?"

"This is my cousin, Kana," Irie introduced and turned to his cousin. "Kana, this is Kotoko,"

"Hi, how are you?" Kana grinned happily and shook Kotoko's hand. "I can't believe such a pretty girl like you married by dumbass of a cousin!"

"Hey, hey," Irie glared playfully at Kana, who stuck her tongue out at him. Kotoko smiled weakly. She couldn't believe these two were related. Sure, they looked very much alike; Kana had Irie-kun's same brown-gray hair which was long and picked up in a ponytail and had side-bangs parted to the right side of her face. Her eyes however, were a pleasant blend between mint green and gray, and they had a playful and cheerful spark in them.

"Nice to meet you," Kotoko managed to let out. Kana smiled and Kotoko introduced her to the other nurses. Kana then realized that Moto-chan, the boy who had feminine attributes, actually wants to be a girl rather than a boy, something the other one, Keita, gets annoyed about. However, Kana can tell all the nurses are very close to one another.

"So you start tomorrow?" Tomoko asked. Kana nodded. "Yeah, I've met some of the doctors in this department and it didn't take me long to realize this is a sausage fest,"

Marina laughed. "That's good, isn't it?"

"Eh," Kana let out as she shrugged. "I don't mind working with them, they all seemed pretty nice and didn't look to be perverts."

"That means you haven't met Nishigaki yet," Irie sighed heavily as he walked towards his cousin. Kana blinked. "Who?"

"You'd be happier not knowing," Irie rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I called my mother and she says to come over for dinner,"

"Sure thing," Kana smiled.


	2. Meet Dr Nishigaki Touma

"I can see you grew," Kana ruffled Yuki's hair. The teenage boy raised an eyebrow at her. "Who are you again?"

"Naoki-chan, are you teaching him to be rude like you?" Kana faced her cousin, who was sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. Irie ignored her question, which made her sigh heavily. Kana then ruffled Yuki's hair again.

"You look exactly like him though," she stated. Kana remembers he was nothing but an infant when she last saw him. She's happy to see he's growing up.

"Dinner's ready!" Irie Noriko cried out to the family. Once they were seated down at the table and eating, Irie Shigeki started up a conversation.

"So Naoki told me that you got transferred to his department?"

"Yeah," Kana said, putting her chopsticks down. "That hospital's very famous, so I wasn't disappointed when they told me about the transfer, but since Naoki-chan's there too, I really have nothing to complain about."

"Kana-chan, aren't you and Irie-kun the same age?" Kotoko asked. Kana nodded. "Yeah,"

"Then how come you're a certified doctor while Irie-kun is still a novice?" she asked. Kana smiled. "Well, when I was in Med school, they were running an optional program that you could sign up for. If you passed, you got to skip two years," Kana sighed. "That program was the most stressful thing I ever got into but out of twenty-five students only me and two guys passed so I skipped two years,"

"Wow, so it was some kind of advanced placement?" Kotoko inquired. Kana shrugged. "Pretty much,"

"That's nice," she smiled. "You and Irie-kun are very intelligent."

"Thank you," Kana responded.

"Where are you staying?" Noriko asked suddenly.

Kana was caught off guard with the question and she blinked before speaking, "I'm staying in a hotel until I can find an apartment…" she trailed off to see her aunt's almost scary expression. "Why…?"

"NO!" she stood from the table and pointed at her niece. "YOU'RE THE CLOSEST THING I HAVE TO A DAUGHTER! YOU ARE LIVING HERE!"

"That's not necessary auntie, really…" Kana said softly, but Irie ate some food before he spoke, "There's no way to back down now; you shouldn't have answered the question…"

"You're right…" Kana watched as Noriko jumped around happily and dashed up the stairs to empty out the other guestroom for Kana.

"This is craziness," Yuki muttered as he sat on the sofa, watching his mother go in and out of the house single-handedly bringing more and more of Kana's belongings in.

"I can't believe we're related," Irie sighed. Kotoko laughed weakly as Kana slapped her forehead.

"I'm sorry for this Naoki-chan," Kana sighed as she slumped in the sofa's cushions. Irie shrugged. "It's not your fault. My mother's always had some kind of inhuman attachment to you,"

"You're like her daughter," Kotoko added. Kana nodded. "Yeah, and prepare for the prying of my personal life; she did that when I was in middle school,"

"Yeah, good luck with that," Yuki smirked. "Onii-san's already married to Kotoko so she doesn't have much snooping to do on him anymore. It's your turn,"

"What about you?" Kana glared at her youngest cousin. Yuki was apparently caught off guard by the question and blushed, but said nothing.

Just as this happened, Noriko popped into the living room. "Kana-chan, your room is all set! You'll live here with us just like you used too!"

"Thanks auntie," Kana said with her best smile. She knew her aunt was going to spy on her more than ever now.

"I can't believe you guys walk to work," Kana smirked. It was early in the morning and she, Kotoko and Irie were calmly walking down the sidewalk.

"You're walking too," Irie rolled his eyes. Kana smiled. "Yeah, I don't have a car either. I just wanted to mess with you."

"How do you feel starting your first day?" Kotoko asked. "I know I was scared."

Kana shrugged. "I'm not nervous—I mean—sure I am but not _that_ nervous," Kana tried to explain but that's what she came up with. Kotoko smiled. "It's ok, I understand,"

Now at the hospital, Kana fixed her lab coat as she picked up her clipboard. Her eyes scanned through it for a brief second and she sighed. Irie heard her sigh and looked over. "What's wrong?"

"It's my first day and I'm already assigned to do a surgery at noon," Kana smirked. "Hospitals really don't give you a break huh?"

"What's the surgery?" Irie asked.

"I have to do an abdominal aortic repair on a fifty-year old man," Kana responded, raising her eyebrows. "I'm doing the surgery with Dr. Nishigaki Touma…" Kana trailed off. "Isn't that theguy you told me about yesterday?"

"That's him," Irie rolled his eyes.

"This should be interesting then," Kana sighed and read some other reports on her clipboard. "And I have some appointments to take care of."

"Good luck," Irie patted her on the shoulder before heading out to the hallway. Kana nodded. "Thanks,"

Kana had a few appointments scheduled for today. Basically, it was just check up n some patients and give an up-to-date on their progress. She'd sped through her appointments and the patients never really made conversation with her, since she's new but she doesn't blame them. However, the last appointment Kana had scheduled was the first to speak to her.

"Irie Kana?" the old lady, known as Yoshida, raised an eyebrow after the new doctor told her name. Kana looked up from the old lady's file and nodded. "Yes,"

"Are you related to Dr. Irie Naoki?" Yoshida's eyes sparkled at the mention of the name. Kana nodded. "Yes, he's my cousin,"

"You look like him, though your eyes are a bit green," the lady pointed out. Kana nodded. "I have my father's eyes,"

"Where'd you get the hair color from then?"

_Well isn't she nosy? _

"My dad passed on the recessive gene I guess," Kana responded, pressed the stethoscope to her back. "Both of my parents were brunettes. Breathe in for me please,"

Yoshida did so and Kana wrote down information on the woman's file. "Alright Yoshida-san, you're fine only your blood pressure's a bit high. I'll bring in a nurse with a pill to bring that down, ok?"

"Just don't send that clumsy nurse," Yoshida muttered, making Kana blink. The old lady saw this and sighed. "Right, you're new. Oh well, you're the only woman I've seen to be a doctor around here,"

Kana shrugged. "I suppose. Have a nice day, Yoshida-san." Kana walked out of the room to the hallway. She turned right and looked at her watch. It was thirty minutes before noon. She'll have to go and see the man who's scheduled for surgery and get a briefing on what she's operating on.

Kana read through the report on her clipboard and saw that the man's nurse was a woman named Yuri. She passed by the nurses' station and asked to see the nurse, only to meet the chief nurse, Hosoi Sayuri, a rather robust and chubby woman with unruly black hair, thick glasses and big red lips. She informed her that Yuri-san was attending to a patient that called earlier and still hadn't returned. After the chief nurse gave her the patient's room number, Kana set out to find her. The room wasn't too far away but Kana soon found out as she got closer to the room that the nurse had attended to the patient and was being distracted from her upcoming work by a man a few years older than Kana.

"You know, out of all the nurses here, you're probably the cutest one I've seen," the man purred, making the woman smile and blush a vivid crimson.

"Oh doctor," the young nurse giggled. Kana shook her head as she saw this. She couldn't see the man's face, for his back was towards her, but the nurse fit the description Hosoi-san had given her.

"You boost the heart rate of all the patients here," the man continued, making the girl blush so hard that her face looked like a bright apple.

Sighing, Kana brushed past the man and ignored him, having her full attention to the nurse. "Are you Yuri-san?"

"Y-Yes," the girl, still blushing, played with a lock of her hair. Kana's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, but she continued. "I have to perform a surgery on a man named Takahashi Yoshio at noon who's a patient of yours; can you please give me his file?"

"Oh, of course," Yuri nodded with a soft smile. She bowed in respect to Kana and then waved dreamingly at the man next to her, who Kana refused to look up at. Once the nurse turned and began walking away, Kana was about to do the same but the man took hold of her by the scruff of her lab coat.

"Whoa, hold on there," the smooth and deep voice chuckled. "It's rude to ignore people, especially when I'm one of the most well-known doctors around here."

"Well I've never heard of you," Kana turned and looked up at him. "So I don't think you're all that famous." Kana now realized why the nurse was enticed by this man. He was very handsome, had a rich tanning of his skin and was very tall. However, Kana isn't fooled by such things.

"Ah, you must be the new doctor," he smirked. "Dr. Irie Kana…" he purred her name, but she remained unfazed by his attempts.

"Yes I am," Kana raised a curious brow. _This must be that Nishigaki guy that Naoki-chan was talking about_, she thought and inwardly sighed._ I can see what he meant… _

"You're Irie's cousin then?" the older doctor smirked when he received a nod. "My my, you're very beautiful."

"I appreciate the flattery but I have a surgery to perform at noon," Kana turned and began to walk down the hall but the man wasn't done. He caught up to her.

"Funny you mention that," he chuckled. "I'm supposed to perform that surgery with you."

Kana stopped walking. _He's right, I totally forgot!_

"So you're—"

"Dr. Nishigaki Touma," the doctor said with a smirk. He extended his hand to shake. "It's a pleasure,"

Kana blinked and took his hand, but he didn't shake it; he gently raised it to his lips and kissed it. Completely baffled, Kana snatched her hand away, which made Nishigaki consume a confused, sort of shocked expression.

"You're not giving me a very good first impression doctor," Kana furrowed her eyebrows.

"Come now, you shouldn't frown. A beautiful face such as yours doesn't need wrinkles," his smirk was wider than the nation of Russia. Kana shook her head in annoyance and turned from him before he could speak again.

"I'll see you at noon, doctor,"


	3. The Surgery

Walking down the hallways of the hospital, Kana read through the man's file again. Takahashi-san was a smoker, which is not a surprise to her since he was an aneurysm that needs repair. Other than that, everything was normal about the man.

"Hello again," the unmistakable voice greeted from behind her. Kana sighed and handed him the man's file.

"Other than being a smoker, the man is average," she told him. Nishigaki's eyes scanned the text on the file. "Hmm, I took a look at the x-rays just now; what do you recommend we do?"

"I thought you're going to lead," Kana told him. "You're the well-known doctor after all." She didn't mind leading the operation, but if it meant taking Nishigaki's crap, she was happy just assisting. All day, Kana has been occupied with various appointments but she's run into the Nishigaki more than a few times. She can tell he enjoys teasing her; he winked at her and even blew a kiss at her.

"No, you lead," he told her.

"Fine, I'll lead but my priority is to cure the patient, not for glory," Kana told him. Nishigaki shrugged. "I understand, besides, you have enough glory being related to Irie,"

"Anyway," she changed the subject. "I looked at the x-rays too and the aneurysm is 6.5 centimeters in diameter. I suggest we do the open procedure rather than the non-invasive one given Takahashi's personal choices and age,"

"I couldn't have said it better," Nishigaki smiled.

**o.O.o**

Both doctors spoke in person to Takahashi-san. After doing so, they left him to be put under sedatives and the nurses, Kana and Nishigaki scrubbed in. Dressed for surgery, everyone stood over the fifty-year old man.

"We'll start with an incision down the abdomen from below the sternum to below the naval," Kana told Nishigaki, who stood on the other side of the operating table. He gave a nod in understanding. Kana looked down at the exposed belly on the table and then held her hand to the nurse on her right.

"Scalpel, please," she asked. The nurse quickly placed the item in her hand. She switched it to her left hand however and inched it towards the incision marks.

"Aww, you're lefty," Nishigaki chuckled. It was more of a tease rather than a question. Kana ignored this and made the careful incision. After cauterizing the bleeding from the cut, Kana took the scalpel again and made another incision down exact center of the abdomen to avoid cutting through muscle.

Now in the abdominal cavity, Nishigaki placed the retractors to hold the skin and small intestine back. He then placed an abdominal ring retractor to give Kana a clear view of what she's working with. The nurses placed clamps on the iliac arteries and the aorta above the aneurysm to avoid blood flow and massive bleeding when the aneurysm is cut.

Now, Kana made another incision along the length of the aorta. After she cleaned up the bleeding with saline and removing the liquid, everyone could clearly see inside the aorta.

"It looks like he does have atherosclerosis," Nishigaki stated. Kana nodded. "Yeah,"

"Here," Nishigaki handed her the polyester fabric graft. Kana took it and placed it into the aorta. The graft looks like a white tube that is designed to withstand the pressures of the major artery.

Now they had to permanently suture the graft to the artery. This she was going to do with the assistance of Nishigaki so they could finish quicker.

"You're lefty so take the bottom suture," he told her. She agreed and they got to work. Kana had to admit he was an experienced doctor. Suture was the easiest thing in the world to Kana, but Nishigaki finished just a few seconds before she did.

"That looks good to me," Kana said. Nishigaki nodded. The nurses removed the clamps that cut off the blood flow. Seeing there was no bleeding, Kana sutured the aorta closed. After removing the retractors and ring, Kana sutured the abdominal wall. Then she stapled the skin together. The staples would be removed two weeks from now when the skin has healed.

"And we're finished," Kana said in relief. The nurses were left to clean up and Nishigaki went with Kana out of the operating room.

"You're not bad," was what came out of Nishigaki's mouth when the doors closed behind them. Kana rolled her eyes as she took off her mask and let her hair loose. "Thank you I suppose,"

"I mean it," Nishigaki chuckled. Kana nodded. "Thanks,"

**o.O.o**

"Mrs. Takahashi?" Kana approached the woman with Nishigaki, who was sitting in the waiting room with a teenage girl.

"Yes?" she answered. The teenage girl also looked up, but said nothing. Nishigaki stepped up. "Your husband's surgery was a success, we'll keep him in the hospital today just for precaution but he's going to be fine,"

"Oh thank god," the woman sighed in relief and the teenage girl smiled, clutching onto her mother's arm. "Can we see him?"

"Of course but he's still a bit sleepy," Kana nodded. The two doctors led the women to his room. He was calmly lying on the hospital bed, his eyes halfway open and not really focused on anything.

"Daddy!" the girl ran over to her father and hugged him. The man chuckled but groaned, wrapping one arm around her. "I appreciate the love but your father's in pain,"

This made the girl laugh and hug her father again. His wife bowed and thanked the doctors before walked to the opposite side of the bed and holding his hand.

Kana watched the heart-warming scene with a small smile, but seeing the teen girl hug her father so happily, Kana's smile faded and her smoky-green eyes stung. Swallowing the lump on her throat, she turned on her heel and made her way out of the room.

Nishigaki was also enjoying the scene. He always felt happy when his surgeries were successful, because he looked forward to seeing the cheerful expressions on his patients' family members. He was surprised when the doctor next to him suddenly brushed past him and walked out of the room in a hurry. He turned his head ever so slightly as he watched her speed-walk out of the room. He raised a suspicious brow at this, but smiled at the family and excused himself politely.

He walked out of the room and looked down both hallways to see Kana speed-walking down the hall to his left. He caught up with her.

"Hey, why did you leave like that?" he asked her. Kana didn't cease walking. "It's none of your business Nishigaki,"

He didn't like her answer and stopped her by holding onto her shoulder. "But you left so suddenly, why—"

"It's none of your business ok?" she turned to face him, her eyes boring into him, but then they dropped. She turned and began walking away again, but Nishigaki persisted.

"Look, after a surgery, I usually go and get a coffee," he said. "Would you like to join me?" It was obviously a lie. After a surgery he normally had more work to do but today it was mostly paperwork, something he could finish at home. He hoped she would agree, but he felt she was somewhat upset. He was confused at this though; she had a successful surgery, there was nothing to be upset about.

"No thank you," she spat. He frowned. He'd never been rejected so quickly, but he didn't fail to hear a small sniffle. "Are you crying?"

"No," she clipped. He was going to say something else, but she entered the women's bathroom. He stopped as the door closed in front of him. She's smart; she knew this was the only place he couldn't follow her into. He has entered before obviously; following a few girlfriends he's had in the past that have come to visit him in the hospital and coaxed him into following her into the bathroom, claiming they "felt sick and needed a doctor's hands".

He chuckled at the memories. They were all flings that lasted no more than four weeks; his relationships never went anywhere other than the occasional dinner, cruise in the car and of course the sinful act.

He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose though, and calmly began to walk down the hallway again to start on that paperwork.

"Nishigaki,"

"Hmm?" the man turned to see none other than Irie Naoki. With a stern face, the young man calmly asked, "Apparently you're done with the surgery. Have you seen my cousin?"

"She's in the ladies room," he responded as he flashed a humble smirk. "Don't worry, I didn't follow her in."


	4. Kana's Pen

"Can you please stop fooling around and go finish your appointments?" Kana sighed heavily as she looked through her patient's file. Nishigaki grinned as he followed her down the hall.

"I already attended all of them," Nishigaki shrugged his shoulders casually.

"Either way, don't you have anything better to do?" Kana raised an eyebrow. Nishigaki shrugged. "Don't you?"

"I need to sign off some paperwork, make a prescription for a medication; long story short, I have a lot of things to do," Kana told him sternly. Nishigaki patted her shoulder. "Oh c'mon loosen up; tell the nurses to do it."

"The nurses have enough work on their hands," Kana glared at him. "And I should know, I live with one and she's always drowning in work that _you_ probably tell her to do."

"Are you crazy? I don't mess with Irie's wife; he'll skin me alive," Nishigaki's eyes widened. Kana shook her head. "I saw you hitting on her a while ago; don't give me that crap."

"Oh my!" he exclaimed. "Is Kana-chan getting jealous?"

"First of all, why would I be jealous and second of all, why did you just call me by my first name?" Kana stopped in her tracks and pointed the blue pen in her left hand at him. He chuckled and lowered the pen with his finger. "Don't be like that; why can't I call you by your first name? Irie does it."

"Because we're working," Kana told him. "And Naoki's my cousin and he's allowed."

"But I'm a colleague," he pouted like a child but then he smirked, "A handsome and charming one too."

"You're so arrogant," Kana threw the pen at him and he yelped in surprise. He picked up the pen from the floor and pointed it out her as he caught up with her in the hallway again. "Don't be throwing writing utensils at me."

Kana sighed heavily. Nishigaki then smirked at her. "How about you go out with me?"

"For the eighth time, no," Kana rolled her eyes at his boldness. Nishigaki egged her on. "C'mon, you know you want too. I'll take you out to a nice dinner, take you on a walk in park, watch the sunset—"

"The answer's no," Kana frowned. Nishigaki opened his mouth to say something else, but a nurse suddenly ran up to them.

"Doctor!" she cried out. "It's an emergency! There's a patient! She's having a seizure!"

Both doctors put their quarrels aside and followed the nurse quickly to the patient's room. There, they saw a woman convulsing furiously. Five nurses were holding her down, those nurses including Kotoko and Keita.

"She's having several grand mal seizures," Keita informed the doctors when they entered. He was holding her right arm while Kotoko was holding the woman's legs. "What do we do doctor?"

"Have you given her any medication?" Nishigaki asked as he rushed over to the heart monitor.

"We've given her 2 milligrams of Lorazepam and Diazepam and we gave the second dose just now," a nurse told him. Kana picked up the clipboard hooked onto the medical bed and flashed her eyes through it.

"Give her phenobarbital," Kana ordered them. The same nurse opened a cabinet by the bed, took a syringe, loaded it with the clear liquid and injected it slowly into the IV tube.

"There's no change Irie," Nishigaki said as he looked at the heart and pulse monitor. The convulsing woman's eyes suddenly rolled to the back of her head and she went still. The still beep of the heart monitor indicated that her heart stopped.

"Get the crash cart!" Nishigaki pointed at a nurse that was standing there with wide eyes, probably scared out of her skin. She thankfully was quick about getting the cart. Kana rushed to the side of the bed and Nishigaki stood across from her. She took the defibrillator paddles and after a nurse squirted the cream-like substance on them, the female doctor rubbed the paddles together.

"Charge them to 200," Kana ordered. The nurse nodded. "200, charged."

"Clear," Kana and the patient jumped in union from the power of the shock.

"Nothing," Nishigaki informed her. Their eyes met for a brief second, but Kana was too distracted to notice what he felt at the moment and looked over her shoulder at the nurse by the cart. "Charge to 300."

"Charge, 300,"

"Clear," again, Kana and the patient jumped. Her ears rung at that annoying still beep of the heart monitor.

"Charge to 360," Nishigaki ordered. The nurse nodded and did so. "Charge, 360,"

"Clear," the patient jumped at the power of the shock, but the monitor still provided no evidence of life returning to the woman.

"C'mon, work with us," Nishigaki pressed at the woman's chest rhythmically. Kana rubbed the paddles again and turned to the nurse. "Charge again,"

"But doctor—"

"I said charge again!" Kana put the paddles to the woman's chest. The nurse nodded and charged. "Charged,"

The woman's body jumped at the shock, and the relieving sound of a steady beeping sound emitted from the monitor.

"Blooding pressure's rising," a nurse by the monitor said. "And rate's coming back."

"Good," Kana sighed in relief. Nishigaki placed the stethoscope to his ears and pressed the end of it to the woman's chest. "Ok, she's steady," he removed them and wrapped it around his shoulders. "Good job everyone; that was a close call."

"Kotoko-chan, how're you holding up?" Kana patted her cousin's wife on the back. She laughed nervously, her cheeks flushed a bit from the anxiety. "I'm well, Kana-chan, thank you,"

"I'm glad," Kana sighed. "Don't stress yourself out ok?"

"Of course," Kotoko nodded. Kana sighed and after excusing herself, she left the room and walked down the hallway. On her way, she ran into her cousin.

"Kana, I heard the woman in room 202 had a seizure," he said. "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, Nishigaki and I took care of it," Kana nodded. Irie's eyes suddenly darkened. "Nishigaki was there?"

"Yeah, we were the first doctors the nurse came across for help," she shrugged. He frowned. "Why were you with him?"

"He was flirting like usual," Kana waved her hand casually. "But don't worry, the woman's fine; I'll have a nurse check up on her regularly just in case,"

Before he could say anything else, Kana smiled and walked down the hallway again. Irie watched her do so but just sighed and went the opposite way.

**o.O.o**

Kana doesn't know how late it is, but outside the window, it was as dark as a cave. She glanced sleepily at the clock on the doctor's lounge's wall: 11:55.

Sighing, she leaned back on the chair and signed off some paperwork. She was unfortunately working overtime today. Irie had left about four hours ago and told her to call a cab when she had to get home. Ever so protective, he didn't want her walking in the night.

She scribbled down words on the paper and cursed aloud when she saw she'd smeared the ink. She crumbled the paper and tossed it into the trash can next to the table. She rubbed her eyes and forehead, then yawned.

"You're still here?"

She recognized the voice automatically and sighed heavily. "I'm dead tired. Don't bother me,"

"I'm tired too," Nishigaki pulled up a chair and sat down across from her on the table. Kana watched him loosen the knot on his tie, then rubbed the back of his neck and rolled his head from side to side. "I just got out of a three hour surgery; my neck feels like it's going to snap in two."

"I know what you're getting too and I'm not giving you a massage," Kana began writing again. She heard Nishigaki let out a low and smooth chuckle. "You're so cold,"

"Whatever you say," she sighed and continued to write her report. Nishigaki watched her attentively and wondered how on earth someone could write so quickly with their left but he figured it was his own instinctual right-handiness that made him wonder that.

"You're an amazing doctor," Nishigaki told her. Kana met his eyes for a brief moment, but then went back to her work. "Thank you; you're not a bad doctor yourself."

"Why thank you," he yawned widely. He glanced at her for a few seconds before speaking again. "How old are you?"

"I'm 68," she didn't miss a beat. Nishigaki chuckled softly. "I'm serious."

Kana glanced up at him, then resumed to her paperwork. "I'm 27,"

"I'm 32," he spoke smugly. Kana raised her glance and she gave him a small smirk. "Did I ask you?"

"Touché," he grinned. "You're much more amusing to have a conversation with than with your cousin."

"How so?"

"Well…" Nishigaki pretended to think about it. "He's cold, he can't take a joke, he never changes his expression, calls me a child, he doesn't talk about his sex life—"

"You've asked him?" Kana's eyes widened in disbelief. Nishigaki shrugged. "Sure; we're both men, why not?"

"You know, I actually wonder that myself," Kana rolled her eyes with a small smirk. "I sleep in the room next to theirs and I hear _nothing_."

Both doctors were silent for a few seconds until Nishigaki let out a snicker. "That's sad."

They both burst into laughter.

"Stop I don't like talking about him behind his back," Kana laughed softly. Nishigaki laughter died to a small chuckle. "Can you imagine that?"

"Stop it, that's my cousin!" she shivered at the thought but laughed. Nishigaki's shoulders moved from his own laughter. Soon, the mood died down and there was a sort of awkward air hanging between them. Kana avoided eye contact with the man and Nishigaki played with his tie.

He suddenly cleared his throat, getting her attention. He reached out for his burgundy shirt's breast pocket and pulled out a pen, but not any pen. Kana recognized it as the pen whose ink never smeared when she wrote with it.

_How the hell does he have it? _

"You threw it at me this morning," he seemed to have read her mind. "I wanted to give it back but I didn't see you anymore after the woman had the seizure." He leaned forward and held out the pen. Kana's eyes met his. She smiled softly and took the pen. "Thank you,"

There was silence between them until Nishigaki stood up from the chair. "Well, I'm going home to get some rest…" he trailed off to smirk at her, that flirtatious spark in his eyes. "Would you like—"

"No," Kana glared at him. Nishigaki pouted. "C'mon, I gave you your pen back…"

"It doesn't matter, Nishigaki," Kana told him swiftly. Nishigaki sighed. "You're a difficult one, you know that?"

"Sure," Kana rolled her eyes. She finds it amazing how they were laughing a minute ago and now they're quarreling again. The handsome doctor smirked at her but then turned and headed for the door. "I'll get you to go on a date with me someday; you'll see…" he stepped through the door and smirked over his shoulder. "Kana-chan,"

Kana scoffed as he quickly shut the door and probably hauled ass down the hall. He's the most annoying man she's ever met.


	5. Coffee

It was a nice day in Tonan University General Hospital. Everyone was going about their business, patients included. It has been a quite peaceful day, which is unusual in Surgical Department 2 despite Kana's little time at the hospital.

At the reception desk, Kana scribbled down the last of the report on the patient she'd just attended too. As a doctor, writing incredibly fast is like second nature to her. But today, she wrote slower than usual. She couldn't take her eyes off the pen, the pen Nishigaki had given back to her last night. She couldn't help but think about his action, however, he could've done it to suck up to her but then again, he had a sincere look in his eyes.

A cup of coffee suddenly was placed next to her opposite arm. She turned to see who was responsible, but she felt the presence move to her other side. She figured it was Naoki, but upon looking to her left, she saw none other than the handsome and flirtatious Dr. Nishigaki Touma. He leaned against the reception desk, smirking at her with another cup of coffee in his hand.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Irie," he chimed. Kana nodded. "Good afternoon…" she trailed off to look at the coffee cup next to her right arm. "What's—"

"It's just coffee," Nishigaki cut in. When Kana gave him a questioning look, he merely shrugged casually with a simple smirk. "I figured since you won't go out with me to get a one, I'll bring it to you."

"How very flattering," Kana sighed heavily and continued to write on the file. Nishigaki sipped a bit of his own coffee and hummed. "I have to do a surgery today with your lovable cousin."

"I know; he told me this morning," Kana nodded. "Good luck."

"Thank you very much; I'll think about you kind words through the surgery," he teased with a smirk. Kana rolled her eyes. "You're so dramatic."

"So will you go out with me?" he asked with a smirk. Kana sighed. "For the last time, no,"

"So if I ask you again, you'll say yes," Nishigaki found double meaning to her words. "Because if you're telling me no for the last time that means—"

"Don't you have a surgery to get too?" Kana told him quite sternly. Nishigaki held his hands out in mocking defeat. "You're right, I do," he smirked and winked at her teasingly. "I'll see you later."

"Hmm," Kana mumbled as the man walked off down the hallway. She watched him briefly as he walked through the hall, and then returned her gaze back to the file, which she closed and cradled in her arm. She glanced at the coffee on the desk; the steam going up through the lid's opening slowly. Sighing, she took the coffee and sipped a bit of the drink. It wasn't _too_ bad.

Once she dropped off the file in the nurse's station, Kana made her way up the stairs to the top of the hospital building. Upon reaching the roof, a relaxing gust of wind blew at her face, making her side bangs tussle against the side of her head. She walked over to a bench and sat down. The view was gorgeous; the city was in its usual rush hour, but the noises of the city weren't heard on the roof, which made the city look serene.

"There you are," Irie's voice said from behind her. She smiled, but didn't look back as she sipped some of the coffee. "Hey Naoki, what's up?"

"I haven't had the chance to talk to you," the young man sat down next to her. "We've been so busy lately."

"Yeah," Kana nodded and smiled at her cousin. He gave her a small smile too and then gazed at the city. "How're you holding up?"

She automatically knew what he meant. She shrugged with a small smile. "I'm fine. It feels nice to be a doctor and save lives."

"He would've been proud of you Kana," Irie said softly. She laughed. "Yeah,"

"You're an excellent doctor," Irie told her. Kana smiled and pushed him playfully. "You're an awesome doctor too!"

"Thank you," he chuckled. "But really, you are. I'm proud of you too."

"Aww, you're so cute, Naoki," Kana giggled and ruffled his hair. "I'm proud of you too. I never would've thought you'd be a doctor."

"Neither did I," he chuckled. He patted her back and stood from the bench. "I have to start scrubbing in for the surgery."

Kana smiled. "Good luck,"

"Thanks," Irie nodded and soon walked off the roof, leaving Kana to her peaceful thoughts.

**o.O.o**

Kana finished her appointments faster than expected and going to the reception desk, the nurse told her that Irie was still in surgery. She walked to the operating room and stood outside, watching the surgery through the glass. Kana saw Nishigaki standing over the patient, but he was guiding Irie, who was standing on the opposite side of the patient. Kana couldn't hear through the glass, but she saw that Irie was swift with whatever Nishigaki was telling him to do and seeing the nods that the older doctor gave him, Irie was doing a good job.

Kana smiled as she watched. Her cousin has always been such a smart cookie.

Soon enough, Irie drew his hands away from the patient and Nishigaki nodded at him. Both doctors began stitching the incision made on the patient and the nurses began cleaning up the used utensils. The stitching only took a short amount of time and both men made their way out of the OR and into the scrub-in section.

"Ah, look who's here," Nishigaki looked up from the sink as Kana entered the room. Irie looked up as well. "Kana, you were watching?"

"I didn't see the whole thing but I can tell you did well," she smiled. "Good job."

"Thanks," Irie nodded sternly. Nishigaki pouted. "What about me?"

"Naoki was doing the work," Kana raised an eyebrow with a small smirk. The man pouted even more. "But I was telling him what to do."

"Doesn't count," she grinned. Nishigaki rolled his eyes with a smirk. She might be a bit uptight when it comes to work but deep inside, she's a teaser.

**o.O.o**

The night slowly crept onto the hospital. The hospital seems to be more serene than usual, since the patients are asleep. Getting the nightshift is something no one wants because it's extremely boring and when you're almost falling asleep of boredom, an emergency pops up and you're forced to slap yourself awake.

Nishigaki was one of the unfortunate ones to get the nightshift. He doesn't mind taking the nightshift however; as long as there are nurses to flatter, he's ok with staying up all night. However, the night would be better if Kana were here to tease and flirt with. She's a tough one to impress; he'll tell you that. He's never met a woman that remains_ this_ unfazed by his advances. There're those few who try to ignore him but at the end crumble, but she's a strong one. He likes that.

He was so drowned in his work and thoughts that he didn't hear his office's door open and someone walk in. He realized this when he heard footsteps against the floor, but as he turned his to look at the intruder; an arm blocked his vision and placed something at his desk. Instinctually, he looked at what was placed at his desk and once he saw it, he already knew who this person was.

"Does this mean yes?" Nishigaki turned on his swivel chair to face the young woman in his office. Kana rolled her eyes. "No, I'm just repaying the coffee you gave me this morning,"

"I got you that coffee out of the goodness of my heart," he smirked. "Don't tell me you're getting soft on me."

"In your dreams," Kana scoffed. "Besides, you got the nightshift. You're going to need it to stay awake." she smirked.

"I don't mind having this shift," he shrugged and smirked. "Thank you for the coffee though; that's thoughtful of you."

"You're welcome," Kana nodded and started to make her way out of his office.

"You sure you don't want to go on a date?" Nishigaki couldn't help but say when she was at the doorframe. She sighed and glared at him. "I'm sure. Good night."

"Good night," he smirked.


	6. Nishigaki's Bad Luck

"Hello there," Nishigaki grinned widely as he swiftly stood in Kana's way. The woman was momentarily startled since she was engulfed in the file she was reading.

"Is someone dying?" she asked with a neutral expression. Nishigaki leaned against the wall and pressed his hand against his chest. "Doctor…I'm dying…of a broken heart."

"You're so stupid," Kana rolled her eyes and walked around him, only for him to catch up with her again and block her way. "Don't be so mean Kana-chan—"

"Again you have the arrogance to call me by my name," Kana snapped. Nishigaki grinned. "Kana's a beautiful name. It suits a beautiful girl such as yourself."

"I'm flattered," Kana mocked a smile. "Now move please."

"You're always so polite," Nishigaki moved aside for her. "That's why I love you."

"I can't say the same for you," Kana clipped.

"You're so cute when you're angry," Nishigaki grinned stupidly as he walked by her side.

"How do you have all this free time?" Kana asked. Nishigaki shrugged. "They only call me for the important things apparently,"

"Well I got something really important I need you to take care of for me," Kana faced him with a serious look. "And if you really love me; you'll do it,"

Nishigaki's face lit up like Christmas lights. "Of course; anything for you,"

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart," Nishigaki drew a cross over his heart. Kana smirked. "Good," she pushed the file in her hand into his chest, which made him grunt in surprise. "I need you to do that for me." Before he could even reply, she started to walk down the hallway. She could practically see as Nishigaki quizzically opened the file and read through it.

**o.O.o**

"You made him do what?" Naoki rubbed his temple as Kana pushed the button on the vending machine.

"Yup," Kana grinned. "He walked right into it."

"I can't believe you," he shook his head.

"Hey, cut me some slack," Kana opened the bag of potato chips. "They were sixty years old and up."

Naoki smirked as he shook his head. Kana laughed. "Want some?"

"Thanks," he shook his head. "But with this conversation I've lost my appetite."

"I haven't eaten all day so I really don't care," Kana shrugged and ate a chip. "Besides, it's funny."

"I'll see you later," Irie patted her shoulder and then started to make his way down the hallway. Kana smiled and walked the opposite way.

Suddenly, as she walked by one of the entrances of the hospital, a woman came running up to her. She looked hysterical and Kana automatically snapped into serious mode.

"Are you a doctor?" she asked anxiously. Kana nodded. "Yes,"

"Doctor, my son is choking!" she cried. Kana's eyes widened and, throwing an almost empty bag of chips away, she quickly followed the woman to where her son was. The little boy, about seven years old, sat on his father's lap.

"Is she a doctor, momma?" the little boy gurgled. The woman was at the brink of tears as she tugged at Kana's lab coat. "Please, he's choking!"

"Ma'am, don't scare me like this," Kana let out the breath she was holding in.

"He's choking! Shouldn't you be doing something?" the boy's mother cried.

"Calm down ma'am; you're son's not choking. If he was, he wouldn't be able to speak," Kana told her.

"But he swallowed my keys!" the woman said. Kana walked over to the boy and knelt down in front of him. She took out her penlight from her lab coat's pocket and turned it on. "Open wide,"

The little boy opened his mouth and Kana shined the light towards it. As quickly as she turned on the light, she turned it off and faced the boy's mother. "Ok, I can see he swallowed something he shouldn't have from the scratches he has on his throat but that will heal in time. You say he swallowed your keys?"

"Yes," she nodded. Apparently, she calmed down a bit. Kana nodded and knelt in front of the boy again. "What's your name?"

"Shun," he gurgled again. Kana nodded and took the stethoscope from her neck and placed them to her ears, then pressed the end of it to his chest. "Breathe in slowly for me Shun."

As Shun did so, Kana skimmed with the stethoscope until she found the jagged sound she hoped to find. She ruffled the boy's hair with a smile and stood to face his mother. "The keys are stuck in his esophagus and haven't gone down to his stomach, which is good," she explained. "I'm going to do an x-ray to see where they are exactly and I'll take them out."

"He needs an operation?" she asked. Kana shook her head. "Like I said, the keys are in his esophagus so I'll just take them out with a special hook we have for that."

Kana led the family to the x-ray room where a nurse did it. After a few minutes, the nurse gave her the x-rays and Kana raised them against the light. It was a bundle of two keys that were stuck right smack in the middle of his esophagus, which is why Shun spoke in gurgles.

"Ok Shun," Kana sat on the swivel chair in a vacant examination room. The little boy lay on the bed and Kana was at the edge behind his head.

"This isn't going to hurt but I need you to be brave because mommy needs those keys ok?"

Shun nodded. Kana took a tube that had a small hook and a camera at the end of it. She then turned on the monitor connected to it. She then glanced at the parents. "This is going to be uncomfortable for him. I need you to hold him down." Shun's parents nodded.

"Close your eyes and think of all the ice-cream you're going to eat after this," Kana smiled down at the boy as he nodded with a grin, closed his eyes tightly and opened his mouth. Kana was surprised the boy actually followed her instructions; she figured he was willing to do anything to get the keys out.

Kana started to feed the tube down his throat. At this, he started to squirm, but his parents held his limbs down. Kana tried to do this as fast as she could, and looking at the monitor, she pictured the tube going down the x-ray of the boy's chest cavity. As soon as her mental image came in contact with the location of the keys, the keys showed up on the monitor. She used the hook and caught them, and then started to pull back the tube.

"We're almost done Shun, just hold on," Kana reassured him. The boy had begun thrashing and tears rolled down his cheeks. He then began to gag as the keys started to come through the back of his throat. Soon enough, Kana pulled the keys out and sighed in relief.

Shun coughed and clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in disgust. His parents helped the little boy sit up and they hugged him. Kana smiled and placed the keys in water.

"And we're finished," Kana smiled and stood from the swivel chair.

"Thank you so much doctor!" the woman thanked happily as she and her husband bowed. Kana smiled. "My pleasure, ma'am, and make sure you buy him ice-cream." She winked at Shun, who giggled.

The young woman walked out of the examination room and made her way down the hallway. Upon getting to her assigned department, she spotted the unmistakable form of Dr. Nishigaki Touma sitting on a bench. He had a coffee cup in hand and the other was thrown over the back of the bench casually.

"Hey there," Kana smirked at him as she stood before him. The man looked up at her and his eyes momentarily flashed with a bit of annoyance, giving Kana a proud feeling.

"Are you happy with the pain you've caused me today?" he raised an eyebrow, but his expression remained neutral. Kana smirked wider. "A little,"

"I deserve a date," he stated firmly.

"You never said anything about a date when I told you to do it," Kana said slyly. Nishigaki sighed and sipped the coffee. "You're enjoying this,"

"Like hell I am," Kana smirked. Nishigaki adjusted the knot on his tie with his free hand. "You're really something, Dr. Irie,"

"Was it that bad?" Kana laughed, stuffing her hands into her lab coat's pockets.

"Well considering they were all between the ages of sixty and seventy-five…" he trailed off to sigh and run his free hand through his wavy black hair. "Doing fifteen prostate exams was anything _but _enjoyable."

Kana burst into laughter and Nishigaki rolled his eyes.


	7. At the Mall

"Kana-chan!"

Kana winced at the sudden rays on sunlight that hit her face and the ring of her sensitive ears at the sound of the curtains swishing. She pulled the covers over her head, but they were quickly pulled off her body.

"Kana-chan, its three in the afternoon!" her obsessive aunt cried as she watched her niece curl up in a ball. "It's time to get up!"

"Auntie, I worked the night shift; I'm tired," Kana grumbled irritably. She was assigned the night shift last night. Much to her luck, Nishigaki didn't get assigned to the shift so she had a quiet department for the majority of the night. However, she did have to perform two surgeries; both emergencies. Fortunately, both surgeries were successful and the patients were going to be fine.

"Oh come on Kana!" Noriko insisted, shaking her niece. "You're not on duty today! I wanted to go to the mall with you and Kotoko!"

"Go without me," Kana turned away from her aunt. Noriko let out an irritated sigh. "C'mon Kana! You need new clothes!"

"Why?" Kana groaned. She practically lives in a hospital, she doesn't need new clothes other than the casual clothing she wears when dealing with appointments and scrubs when in surgery.

"For when you go on a date!" Kana could almost see her grin. "You're going to have to get married one day and give me grandchildren to play with!"

Kana sighed heavily. She doesn't bother explaining the genealogical tree to her aunt anymore; although Noriko has always been like a mother to her—scratch that—a _crazy_ mother.

"I don't plan on getting married anytime soon,"

"You'll have to start thinking about it!" Noriko exclaimed, making Kana's sensitive-from-sleep ears ring again. "You're twenty-seven! It's an ideal time to have babies!"

Kana rolled her eyes. Medically speaking, she was correct. But Kana had no thoughts of having children or getting married; hell, she isn't even dating anyone. She's had boyfriends in the past obviously, but none of them have ever managed to sweep her off her feet and get her to fall in love with them.

"Well, I'm awake now," Kana sighed and sat up. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and yawned. "Just give me a minute and I'll get ready."

Her aunt shrieked in delight and hugged her niece before dashing out of the room.

After Kana got ready, wearing a cute top she found in her closet, jeans and sandals, she headed downstairs. Naoki was in the living room helping Yuki with some homework and Shigeki was reading the newspaper.

Kana hopped into the car with Kotoko and with her aunt as the driver, they arrived in one of many shopping malls in Tokyo. Upon entering, the mall's hallway was wide and it wasn't too packed, but not empty either. Endless shops lined the hallways as well.

"Let's go see the clothes," Kotoko told her mother-in-law. The woman nodded excitably and led the way. They looked around the millions of racks with clothing in different stores, to which Noriko forced Kotoko and Kana to try on; regardless of how expensive and impossible to buy they were. They tried on different perfumes and looked at the wide variety of bracelets, necklaces, and earrings. When they came across the shoes, they spent what seemed hours trying on heels and other footwear.

"I want to get something for Irie-kun," Kotoko said as they walked down the hall.

Noriko led them to a men's store (at this point Kana realized her aunt had this mall's layout memorized). The store was quite large; selling clothing, shoes, accessories and watches.

"Let's split up and see if we find something cute for my boring son," Noriko said, making Kotoko smile weakly. "Irie-kun's not boring…"

Kana just laughed and went in the direction her aunt pointed to. She looked through various racks for something her cousin would wear.

"Well, well, look who it is," said a deep voice from behind her. Kana froze at hearing the voice. She slowly turned her head to see none other than the flirtatious Nishigaki standing there, his signature smirk and flirty gleam in the eyes.

"Hi," Kana raised an eyebrow. She subconsciously ran her green eyes over his form quickly. She's never seen him in civilian clothing before; he wore a white button-up shirt whose sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and over a dark blue sweater, casual black pants and shoes. He also wore a quite expensive looking silver and black, leather-strapped watch on his right wrist.

"Like what you see?" he teased, seeing her eyes travel. He ran his own grey eyes over her figure and spoke before she could, "I know I do."

"Are you here with one of your _many_ girlfriends?" Kana jabbed as she turned around to skim through the clothing racks.

"Actually, I'm single at the moment," he chuckled. "I'm trying to get this beautiful girl I know to go on a date with me but she keeps refusing."

"Maybe she just thinks you're annoying; you should leave her alone," Kana replied smoothly.

"You know her?" he asked in a mocking surprise tone. Kana rolled her eyes and sighed inwardly at the extreme luck to meet him here. He chuckled at her silence and hummed. "I'll give you a hint…"

Kana raised her eyebrows at his words, but didn't turn around. She regretted it when she felt heat radiating from behind her and his warm breath against her ear. "She's standing right here..."

A shiver ran up her spine and a pink blush spread across her cheeks. Her heart leaped and began picking up the pace. What is it with this man that's so captivating? It's just something about him that makes the women just melt in his arms; is it the fact that he's a doctor? His silky, deep voice? His gorgeous looks or his charming smile?

Kana's mind ran a million per second. She was frozen in the spot and his warmth was enveloping her like a blanket. She swore she saw stars when she heard Kotoko's voice.

"Dr. Nishigaki?" the young nurse called in surprise. The man quickly parted away from Kana, much to her relief.

"Hello Kotoko-san," Nishigaki smiled charmingly. "It's a coincidence to see you both here."

"Yes it is," Kana spat quite bitterly as she rolled her eyes. Kotoko, failing to sense the tension between the two doctors, smiled innocently and nodded.

"Is Irie with you two?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Kotoko shook her head. "No; Irie-kun stayed home."

The older doctor sighed. "He's so boring; he should get out more…"

"Irie-kun's not boring…" Kotoko found herself repeating the statement.

"Kotoko-chan! There you are!" Noriko cried as she made her way into the scene. The woman glared momentarily at Kotoko but when her eyes fell upon the man standing by one of the clothing racks with Kana, her eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed.

"Who's this gorgeous man?" Noriko's lips curled upwards in a smile. Nishigaki's ego seemed to inflate at this, Kana noted.

"I'm flattered," he chuckled. "I'm Dr. Nishigaki Touma; it's a pleasure."

"Oh he's a doctor!" Noriko glanced at her niece. "Just like you Kana!"

"I know, I work with him in the department," Kana said.

Noriko twirled a lock of her hair and admired the handsome man before her. "So you're the doctor that my son is learning from…" she tilted her head in confusion. "Funny, you don't look like a pervert."

Nishigaki blinked three times rapidly. "Excuse me?"

"Auntie, we should be going home," Kana quickly changed the subject. Her aunt had walked into the living room while she and her cousin were having a conversation and somehow, the subject of how Nishigaki's a pervert popped up.

"Hmm, why?" Noriko asked. Nishigaki decided to jump in. "Yes, why?"

"Well…" Kana quickly said, "We haven't eaten so I thought—"

"Oh that's no problem," Nishigaki stepped in. "I'll treat you lovely ladies to lunch if you'd like."

"Really?" Noriko was more excited than Kotoko and Kana.

"Of course," Nishigaki flashed that flirtatious smile of his. Noriko decided for Kana and Kotoko obviously, and the lunch with Nishigaki was official, much to Kana's displeasure. The restaurant he decided to take them too was right in the mall so they walked through the hallways of the shopping center. As they did so however, Kana slowly began to pull Kotoko bit by bit away from her mesmerized aunt and the eager-to-flatter Nishigaki.

"Kotoko, when we get to the restaurant, sit next to me," she whispered to her. Kotoko raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Please—for me?" Kana said. She knew Nishigaki was most likely going to make the move to sit down next to her.

"Ok sure," the nurse nodded, and Kana smiled. "Thanks, Kotoko."

Upon arriving, they were led to a table quite quickly. Nishigaki, being the gentleman he is, pulled back one of the chairs and gestured for Kana to sit. The doctor eyes Kotoko as she sat down, and ever-so-obedient, the nurse quickly took the chair next to Kana. The older doctor was surprised by this, but said nothing as he sat across from Kana and next to Noriko.

"So how long have you been in the medical career?" Noriko leaned a bit _too_ close to the man as his eyes skimmed the menu. However, he covered his surprise and morphed a weak smile. "Eleven years."

"Then you're very experienced I presume?" her eyes shined. Nishigaki shrugged. "I have colleagues that are _a lot_ more experienced than I am, so I wouldn't consider myself very experienced compared to them."

Kana scoffed at this as she read the menu, but they didn't seem to notice.

"Enough about me; Kotoko-san, I've always been curious about how you and Irie met," Nishigaki raised his eyebrows and smirked. Kotoko blushed. "We met in high school and…well—it kind of went from there…"

"I see," Nishigaki nodded. Soon enough, a waitress came along and took their orders. Kana rolled her eyes as he indirectly flirted with the waitress, winking at her when he asked for a bottle of sake. This man hit on anything with a pulse, she came to that conclusion.

The beverage came before the food. Kana eagerly took the bottle and poured herself a cup.

"How odd," Nishigaki chuckled as she sipped the sake from her cup. "I pictured you being the type to refuse alcohol."

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Kana went for her second drink. "I like a good drink once in a while."

The food came by the time Kana finished her second drink. Kotoko, knowing she's a bad drinker, decided to drink only one cup, Nishigaki went for two and Noriko calmly refused, saying she wanted to remain sober because she was driving (in reality, she wanted to remain sober so she wouldn't scare the handsome man next to her away).

They ate quietly, and Nishigaki took this as an opportunity. He figured this is the closest he'd get to a date with Kana…for now at least.

He gently shifted in his seat and gently brushed her knee against Kana's. He studied her face when he did so, but she only furrowed her eyebrows and moved her leg away. He figured he thought that he needed more room. However, that wasn't the case and went in for the kill again, this time being bolder and running his foot up the side of her calf.

Her eyebrows shot up to her hairline and he knew then and there that she figured out the game he was playing. Her eyes never left her plate, but he knew. Her reaction to this however, was probably the biggest surprise he's had since he performed emergency surgery on a child and found that the child had swallowed a miniature rubber duck.

Her eyes never met his as her foot slowly ran up his leg in the same manner he'd done to her. He couldn't help but let the corner of his lips rise into a smirk. He knew it. He knew she couldn't resist him; she acted all uptight because she was in public, but deep inside, she melted whenever she saw him; he can't believe he didn't notice this before, it was obvious. It was a relief to him; he almost believed that she was actually not interested in him. How could he have been so stup—

Nishigaki let out a yelp as the sharp pain of a hard kick hit him straight in his tibia bone; where it really hurt. Kotoko and Noriko jumped at this while Kana calmly kept on eating as if nothing was happening. Other people in the restaurant looked over, but brushed it off and went back to their meals.

"Doctor, are you alright? What happened?" Noriko asked with concern. Nishigaki clenched is jaw tightly as he smiled and waveringly spoke, "I-It's nothing, don't worry."

Nishigaki watched as a big and devious smirk grace her lips and he realized he'd been tricked—in a _very_ clever way. She was feeling for the right spot, the spot she knew would cause pain if applied enough pressure.

_She's a tough one alright_, Nishigaki thought as he glared at the woman before him. She momentarily raised her eyes to meet his but it lasted a mere second before her minty green orbs went back to her plate. He clenched his jaw as he reached under the table and rubbed the inflicted area. That was sure to leave a bruise.

Sighing, he took a sip of the water in his cup and smirked as he watched her. A kick to the leg has never made him want a woman so badly.


	8. Girls' Night Out

"Hey there beautiful,"

Kana rolled her eyes but continued to write on the file at the reception desk. She jumped when warm hands placed themselves on her shoulders and began to rub. Kana fought back a sigh and shook off his hands. "You have nothing better to do, do you?"

"I'm on break," Nishigaki leaned against the reception desk and smirked. Kana raised her eyebrows. "Well I'm not,"

"Too bad," he pouted. Without a word, Kana slipped the file off the desk and began to walk down the hall. Nishigaki followed.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

"No," Kana clipped. He rolled his eyes. "It's rude to interrupt someone when they're speaking."

"I didn't interrupt you; I answered your question," Kana smirked, which made him sigh in defeat. Suddenly, the female voice of a receptionist echoed through the PA system of the department.

"Dr. Irie Kana, report to Head of Department as soon as possible," the female voice announced and bid a good day before shutting off the system. Kana blew a stray hair from her face. "What do they want?"

"Someone's in trouble~," Nishigaki sang teasingly. Kana smacked him with the file. "I'm not in trouble. Go finish your appointments will you?"

"I'm on break, love~," he sang once more as Kana walked down the hallway. She rolled her eyes and walked faster.

**o.O.o**

"Hey, Kotoko,"

The young nurse looked up from her clipboard to see her good friend, Marina as well as Moto-chan and Tomoko. She smiled. "What is it you guys?"

"We want to do a girls' night out!" Moto-chan grinned happily. Marina nodded. "We wanted to know if you and Dr. Irie were busy so we could go out tonight and have some drinks."

Kotoko cocked her head in confusion. "Why would Irie-kun come with us on a girls' night out?"

"We mean Kana-chan, silly," Tomoko giggled, which made Kotoko blush in embarrassment. "R-Right, I knew that!"

"So are you busy or what?" Marina asked. Kotoko looked up in thought. "I'm not busy, but I don't know about Kana-chan; I'll have to ask her."

"Alright, you do that," Moto-chan smiled. "It's going to be so fun!"

Kotoko nodded. "I'll go ask Kana-chan now."

Kotoko made her way through the hallways and looked for the doctor. She soon found her walking calmly through one of the hallways towards the back of the department. She seemed to be reading a paper she held on her hand.

"Kana-chan," Kotoko quickly made her way over to Kana. The woman was surprised by her sudden appearance and swiftly hid the paper in the clipboard she held in her other hand and tucked it under her arm. She smiled. "Hey Kotoko-chan,"

"I was wondering if you're busy tonight?"

Kana shrugged. "If I don't get assigned to the night shift at the last minute, no; why?"

"The girls and I want to go out on a girls' night and we were wondering if you want to come," Kotoko smiled brightly. Kana's eyes widened and she grinned shyly. "I don't remember the last time I went out on a girls' night..." Kana nodded. "Count me in."

After their shifts ended, Kana and Kotoko went home and changed clothes and made their way to the train station where they met up with the other nurses. Marina took the honor of taking them to a bar lounge in the city. It was modern, music played and the bar sold good food and drinks.

After sitting in a round booth with an accompanying coffee table, the girls sat down and began talking about—well—girl stuff.

"Ok, so first off; Moto-chan; how's that guy you've been talking to?" Marina asked, pointing to the self-proclaimed female. He grinned happily. "He's such a sweetheart; he tells me to have a good day at work every day!"

"Cute," the red head smiled with the rest of the girls. Moto-chan then looked over at Tomoko. "And how's your romantic life been?"

"I'm waiting for the perfect man," the nurse said gently. Marina smirked. "With a cute face like yours, you'll get any man, Tomoko."

"And how's your life with Naoki?" Kana raised an eyebrow and sipped her drink. "I haven't heard noise coming from your room yet."

"Kana-chan!" Kotoko blushed furiously while the other nurses laughed. Kana grinned. "What about you Marina? You ask us questions but you don't say anything about your love life."

"Well, there was this doctor in Department 5; you guys should know him—Hayashi?"

"Oh yeah, Dr. Hayashi," Kana nodded. "I've seen him a few times before."

"Hmm, me too," Moto-chan nodded and stuck his tongue out. "He's a hottie."

"I know," Marina sipped her drink and placed it on the table. "So I tried to see if I had a chance to date him but he's too much of a workaholic and I want a man who pays attention to me."

"Well, he's a doctor, what do you expect?" Kana raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm, I guess you're right…" she shrugged. "I bet he's not even that rich anyway."

"Don't say that Marina-chan," Tomoko gave her a worried face. "You should marry a guy you love, not by how much money he has."

"Yeah, like Kotoko; Naoki's a cold guy, but I know he has a soft spot for her," Kana gestured at Kotoko. Marina smirked. "So now that we're in this conversation—when are you gonna get Nishigaki in the sack?"

"Excuse me?" Kana glared at the red head. She looked at Kana as if she was crazy. "Hello! Dr. Nishigaki is one of the most well-known doctors in the hospital and he's giving you all of his undivided attention!"

"It's not like I asked for it," Kana sighed heavily. Marina raised an eyebrow. "Then take advantage of it."

"Are you kidding me? He's nothing but a player; I want nothing to do with him."

"Why don't you give the man a chance; I mean, he clearly wants you more than anything," Moto-chan raised an eyebrow. Kana shook her head. "Of course not! He's only interested in me because I'm the only woman that's ever said no straight in his face—he's only in on it for the chase."

"But at least give him a chance—maybe he really likes you," Tomoko suggested. Kana scoffed. "Nishigaki hits on anything with a pulse; he hits on me and then he hits on a nurse."

"He's trying to get you jealous and it looks like it's working~," Marina smirked. Kana glared at them. "NO IT'S NOT!"

"But seriously, you should go out with him," Marin said this quite casually. Kana frowned. "Give me three reasons why I should."

"He's gorgeous," Moto-chan couldn't help himself.

"Aside from that,"

"He's rich," Marina pointed out. Kana gave her a questioning glance. "He's rich?"

"Of course he is; have you seen his car?" Moto-chan stares at her with wide eyes. Kana shook her head, making Marina sigh and lean over the table. "He drives a _Mercedes-Benz_."

Kana eyebrows reached her hairline. "Wow; never knew," but she shook her head. "I'm still not convinced."

"Like I said before; he gives you his undivided attention. He hits on you more than any other nurse in the hospital; don't you know you're an item?"

"We're not an item!"

"You're always busy so you never hear the rumors," she smirked. "But yes you are."

"Guys, you shouldn't tease Kana-chan like this," Kotoko said. Kana nodded. "You said it Kotoko."

There was a pause before Marina mixed her drink with her straw. "So are you gonna go out with him?"

"NO!"

**o.O.o**

"ACHOO!"

"Are you ok, doctor?" the nurse jumped at the sudden noise, but managed to make a coherent sentence.

Nishigaki sniffled as he brushed his forefinger against the tip of his nose. "I'm fine, thank you."

He continued to walk towards his office, where he proceeded to grab his things before heading home for the day. As he did so, he couldn't help but realize Kana had left the hospital at the time she's supposed too. She usually leaves an hour or two later.

However, he brushed it off and put his jacket on before heading out of his office.

"Have a good evening doctor," the same nurse beamed and blushed as he walked by. The doctor merely smiled gently. "You too, dear,"

The nurse giggled while she blushed and walked past him, only to jump in surprise at the echoing sound.

"ACHOO!"


	9. Strawberries

After a long day of work, Kana quietly gathered her things to go home. It wasn't too late, it was 10:58 p.m. Naoki and Kotoko had also gone home already, as they tend to leave earlier than Kana, which means said doctor has to get home on her own.

After hanging her lab coat on the coat hanger in her office, she walked out and began walking down the hallway as soon as the door closed behind her. As she walked, she blew a strand of hair from her face irritably upon seeing her annoying colleague step out of his own office. She planned to ignore him, but he spotted her, since her heels made loud sounds against the floor.

"Well hello there," he grinned widely. Kana nodded in acknowledgement. "Hello."

"Irie and his wife already left," he stated as he began to walk beside her. Kana nodded. "I'm aware of that."

"That means you're walking home alone," he said.

"No, I'll just take a taxi—" Kana stopped mid-sentence and glared up at him. "Where are you going with this?"

"I'll give you a ride home," he smirked. Kana sighed. "No thanks."

"And why not?" he pouted.

"I actually want to go home," Kana responded and sharply turned and walked into the hallway to her right where the main exit of the hospital was.

Shocked, Nishigaki watched as she walked out of the building. His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed. Why would she say something like that? Why would he take her somewhere that wasn't her—

_Oh I see,_ he thought bitterly. _She doesn't trust me._

**o.O.o**

"Doctor, did you fill out the prescriptions?" the nurse asked as she held a clipboard to her chest. Nishigaki pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smiled charmingly. He patted the petite woman's shoulder. "I already turned them in dear; don't worry about them."

The woman blushed and giggled. "Thank you doctor,"

Nishigaki smirked. He always loves how they melt at his words. But when he looked up from the nurse in front of him, he saw a familiar feminine figure in the distance; about five hallways away.

"I have to get going," he calmly told the nurse, but his gray eyes never left the woman's figure. He didn't even hear what the nurse said back to him. He honestly didn't care; for the figure was facing away from him, which was perfect for his devious scheme.

He quickly but quietly made his way over to his fellow colleague and snuck up behind her. She was engrossed with the file she was writing in. Nishigaki smirked widely and quickly grabbed her sides and cried out: "IRIE!"

She gasped loudly and almost jumped to the ceiling. She dropped everything she was holding: the file, papers, clipboard, pen, everything.

"Damn it; what are you; five?" she cried as she turned to him and slapped his chest. He laughed loudly. "You're so cute when you're scared!"

He watched her as she rolled her eyes. His laughter died but his smirk remained as he bent down and helped her pick up what she dropped.

"You're such a child," she mumbled. Nishigaki merely chuckled. As he picked up the remaining papers, he spotted one a quickly snatched it before Kana got hold of it. He stood up and ran his eyes over the text.

"Give that back, Nishigaki!" Kana reached for it, but he turned away from her and blocked her with his free arm.

"You have to take a physical?" he faced her as soon as he was done reading. Kana glared at him as he smirked widely and continued, "Of course, that's why the Head of Department called you last week; it was for this."

"So what?" Kana reached for the paper again, but Nishigaki held it up in the air, which was impossible for Kana to get unless she stood on a chair. Nishigaki smirked. Every doctor admitted to this hospital was required to get a physical exam.

"Have you found someone to do the exam for you?" Nishigaki asked, his grin failing to cease.

"Do you have to know?" Kana sighed heavily. After Nishigaki nodded, Kana glared at him. "Will you give me the paper if I tell you?"

"Of course love,"

"I've called five different doctors, three in this hospital and the other two are clinics in the city; none have returned my calls—can I have the paper back?"

"And you can't ask Irie because he doesn't have his license to practice medicine yet and even if he did, he's directly related to you," Nishigaki cleverly pointed out. For examinations like physicals, family members are not allowed to perform physicals on those related to them.

"Yes, yes; now can I have it back?" Kana held out her hand. Nishigaki glanced at the paper again. "It's due by the end of next week," he held it out to her and she sharply took it. As she put the paper back in her clipboard, Nishigaki ran a hand through his wavy hair. "I can do your physical you know,"

"Yeah and I can do fifteen backflips and swallow an elephant," Kana rolled her eyes.

"I'm not joking," Nishigaki chuckled at her sarcasm. "I'm free to do the exam for you."

"No thank you, I'll take care of this myself," Kana sighed and started to walk by him, but he grasped her shoulder. "You're so stubborn; I'm just trying to help,"

"You only want to do this for your own reasons—Gods knows what they are," Kana turned to him and shook off his hand.

"Why do you think so lowly of me?" Nishigaki raised an eyebrow. "I'm just trying to help you in a time of need because I'd want you to do the same for me."

"So _that's_ why you're doing this?" Kana raised her eyebrows suspiciously. Nishigaki frowned. "You're missing the point, Irie," he sighed. "Look I'll make you a deal."

"This better be good,"

"I'll do your physical, but if you think that I'm up to something during the exam, I'll stop and you'll be on your way," he explained. Kana raised an eyebrow. "And this makes a difference how?"

"You have nothing left to lose," he stated. "Here I am offering my free time to help you; you should be thankful."

Kana squinted suspiciously and looked down to the floor momentarily. Nishigaki breathed in to say something, but he choked when Kana grabbed his tie and pulled him down to her level.

"Fine," she said softly but sharply. "You better not pull any games—got it?"

Unable to make coherent sentences, the older doctor just nodded quickly. Kana stared into his eyes, trying to trace any signs of deceitfulness, but finding none, she let go of his tie and sharply turned her back to him and smacked him in the face with her hair in the process.

Whether she did this on purpose or unknowingly was beyond him, but as he stood up straight from his crouched position, he couldn't help but smirk. Her hair smelled like strawberries.


	10. Trust

After yesterday's discussion, the two doctors decided that today at 3:00 p.m. would be the best time for both of them. During the day, Kana would catch Nishigaki's eye. He would only wink and smirk at her like he usually does. Kana still doesn't know why she agreed to this but she looks at the bright side; she'll have this out of the way. She hopes Nishigaki won't act like a child.

3:00 p.m. finally arrived and Kana sighed as she made her way down the hallway. The reception desk told her that Nishigaki was checking up on one of his patients. They told Kana the room number, so she made her way to the room.

"After the nurse gives you the antibiotic, you're free to go home," Nishigaki patted the man's shoulder. The man smiled gleefully. "Thank you doctor,"

Nishigaki nodded as he walked out of the room and smirked upon seeing Kana.

"Hey there beautiful," he greeted her. Kana sighed but followed him out of the room. They walked into a vacant examination room. Kana gulped and looked around the room. It was average; it had a sink with cabinets and cupboards, an exam table, two chairs to against the left wall and a swivel chair without a back rest. She didn't realize she was daydreaming when the closing of a cabinet made her jump in surprise. She turned to see Nishigaki holding a hospital gown.

"You know the drill," he handed the gown to her. "I'll be right back."

Kana glared at him when he winked and made his way out of the room, shutting the door behind him. She sighed softly and looked down at the gown. She placed it on the exam table and began to take off her clothing.

Meanwhile, Nishigaki walked towards the nurse's station. There were only a two nurses in there, who smiled and greeted him warmly as he walked in. He walked towards the file cabinets at the back of the room and found the employee cabinet that said F-J and looked through the endless files until he found _Irie, Kana_. He slipped it out of its place and cradled it under his arm. As he closed the drawer and turned around, he nearly bumped into none other than his assistant.

"Well hello there Irie," Nishigaki grinned. The young man raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing in the employee cabinet?"

"No, it was the wrong cabinet you see," he said quickly. Nishigaki won't hear the end of it if he told his assistant that his cousin (in which he's so protective of he's realized) is in an examination room and he's the one doing a physical for her.

"But you have a file in your hands," Irie pointed out. Nishigaki smirked. "I had this when I came in," he turned to the nurses in the room. "Right ladies?"

The nurses' heads perked up but before they could answer, Nishigaki grinned at Irie. "See? Now I have to get going, I'll see you around—"

"Have you seen Kana by any chance?" Irie asked just as Nishigaki turned around. The older doctor shrugged. "Haven't seen her all day," And with that, he quickly walked out of the nurses' station. He sighed heavily. His assistant can be very intimidating sometimes.

He approached the door of the exam room. He knocked softly. He needed to set a good example.

"You can come in," Kana's voice came from the room. Nishigaki walked into the room and shut the door. She was sitting on the exam table. Her clothing was folded neatly next to her.

Not a word was spoken as the older doctor placed the file on the counter and washed his hands. After he dried them, he walked over to her and gave her a smirk. "Nervous?"

"Can you just get this over with?" she said irritably. The man chuckled and reached into his lab coat and pulled out his stethoscope. He placed it in his ears and pressed the end of it to Kana's back.

"Breathe in," he said out of habit. Kana did so slowly and repeated it three more times as he moved the stethoscope to certain places on her back. He then placed it on her chest. Her heart rate was a bit faster than average, but he figured it was because she was nervous.

He placed the stethoscope on his shoulders and gently felt under her jaw and neck. This was brief, as he found no signs on inflammation, and reached into his pocket and pulled out an otoscope. He placed a plastic covering on it and then placed it in her right ear, then the other. He discarded the plastic and turned on the built-in flashlight. He gently cupped her cheek, which he noticed was a bit warm but seeing how his bargain stated: "If you think I'm up to something, I'll stop the exam", he decided not to comment on it. He softly placed his thumb on her cheekbone and rolled it downwards, exposing her inner eye. He shined the light to her eye to which the pupil responded accordingly. He repeated the process on the other eye and received the same result. Her eyes are a gorgeous color, a minty green not very common.

"Say ah," Again, a force of habit. Kana followed his instructions however and opened her mouth. He shined the light and found nothing out of place. He put the otoscope back in his lab coat's pocket and pulled out a plexor. He took her arm and tapped her elbow with it. Her arm jerked in response and so did her opposite arm. He then repeated the process on her knees and it resulted positively. He put the plexor back in his pocket again and he knew that this part would cause him a bit of trouble. He glanced at her which made her raise an eyebrow.

"What?" she questioned. He raised his eyebrows and quickly flashed his eyes to her chest and then back at her face. She got the message, he realized, because she blushed darker than the burgundy shirt he was wearing.

"I won't look," Nishigaki told her gently. Kana gave him a look which made him hold up his hands in innocence. "I've been doing well so far; or have I been "up to something"?"

Kana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Don't look, got it? You don't need to look for this."

"I wasn't planning too," that was a sort of the truth. His man side wanted to look—Kana was a beautiful, mature woman but his doctor side wanted to be professional.

He placed his hand on her shoulder and looked down. He heard the swish of her robe and took a deep breath before gently cupping her right breast and feeling no lumps; he felt the other and got the same result.

"Alright, lay back when you're done," Nishigaki said as he turned around to write down some information in Kana's file before he forgets. When he turned back around, Kana was lying on the exam table. He quickly pressed at her belly, which made her squirm.

"Does that hurt?" he asked. Kana shook his head. Nishigaki couldn't help but smirk. "You're ticklish, aren't you?"

"No," she answered quite quickly. He knew she was lying through her teeth.

"Don't lie to me, I'm a doctor—I have ways of finding out," he poked her side again and smirked as she squirmed. "Stop it!"

He chuckled and held his hand out to her. She took it and helped her sit up. "You're completely healthy."

"That's good to hear…" Kana avoided eye contact with him. He nodded and walked over to the counter. "You can change if you'd like,"

"Not with you in here," she snapped. He looked over his shoulder. "I won't peek, don't worry."

As he began writing in Kana's file, he heard the quick ruffling of clothing. He smirked deviously. She doesn't have to know that he peeked.

He took off his glasses and used the lenses as a mirror to look behind him. Alas, his glasses aren't a mirror, so he only saw the outline of her body quickly changing. He smirked. _Oh she's healthy alright,_ he thought to himself.

"Thank you again…for this," Kana said she fixed her lab coat. Nishigaki gave her a genuine smile. "Anything for you love," he quickly scribbled his complex signature on Kana's examination paper and handed it to her. As she took it, she looked up at him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" he hummed as he placed her file under his arm.

"Why did you _really_ do this?"

He has to admit the question caught him off guard, but he shrugged and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "I just want your trust, that's all."

Now his answer caught _her_ off guard. However, knowing this man, she merely thought of it as a "gentleman thing to say".

"Alright then," she nodded. "Thanks again."

"Don't mention it Irie," Nishigaki smiled. He opened the door and let her step through first. As she was about to turn at the hallway to turn in her physical exam paper, Nishigaki's arm stopped her. She looked up at him and his famous flirty grin was plastered on his face. "So how about dinner Friday night?"

"You never change do you?" Kana rolled her eyes and brushed past him. He chuckled. "Oh c'mon, I deserve something in return!"

"Yeah, yeah," Kana rolled her eyes.


	11. A Question

Tonan University General Hospital is somewhat peaceful today. The nurses and doctors are walking about the hallways tending to their patients as family members visit their loved ones. It's an everyday occurrence unless an emergency disturbs the peace, and thankfully, there's been none of those today.

Nishigaki stood by the reception desk. His initial task was to turn in some paperwork, and once he did so, he began to flatter the nurse at the reception desk, somewhat distracting her from her work.

"Excuse me, I need a nurse to get me blood sample from Mr. Saito in room 509," a firm but feminine voice suddenly interrupted Nishigaki midway through a compliment.

"Of course Dr. Irie," the nurse nodded and picked up the phone on the desk and began to contact any available nurse at the nurse's station. Nishigaki raised an eyebrow as Kana merely glanced at him and then turned on her heel to walk down the hall. The older doctor blinked and seeing as the nurse he was flirting with was busy; he might as well bother Kana.

"Wait, Irie!" Nishigaki caught up to her quite quickly. Kana however, remained unfazed and kept walking as she looked through some files in her hands.

"What is it?" she asked coolly.

"I just want to talk to you," Nishigaki smiled. "I haven't had the chance to do so today."

"That's true," Kana sighed. "But I'm busy."

"You don't look very busy," Nishigaki raised a curious brow. "And you look like you need a coffee."

"I worked the night shift last night," Kana rubbed her temple.

"I'll buy you a cup of coffee—come," Nishigaki placed his hand on the small of her back and redirected her down the hallway to their left. Kana glared at him as he did so. "This isn't one of your many attempts at a date with me is it?"

"Just trying to be nice," he grinned widely. The female doctor sighed and rubbed both of her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. "I'm only agreeing to this because I need coffee."

"Excuses, excuses my dear Irie," Nishigaki chuckled.

The two doctors soon arrived at the nearest cafeteria where Nishigaki proceeded to buy coffee for both of them. They sat on a small square table for two. Sitting across from her, he watched her as she took the first sip of her coffee and then put it down to open up one of the files she held. Nishigaki watched her read the text on the file as he drank his own coffee cup.

Her minty eyes suddenly flashed up and met his own, which bombarded him with the question of how long he'd actually been staring at her.

"What?" she asked, her tone wasn't scolding though; it betrayed curiosity.

"I just…" Nishigaki placed his coffee cup on the table and pushed his chair closer to the table so he could fold his arms on the tabletop. "I just want to ask you something—"

"For the last time, I'm not going out with you," Kana sighed heavily.

"That's not the question," Nishigaki raised an eyebrow.

Kana blinked. "Then what's the question?"

Nishigaki took a pause, deciding how to word his inquiry. He then spoke, "Why do you not like me?"

Kana gave him a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"Let me rephrase that," he said. "Why don't you want to go out with me?"

Kana's eyebrows knitted together. The two doctors remained silent but their eyes stayed locked in an intense gaze. Nishigaki waited patiently for her answer, which she's probably analyzing considering she's silent.

Kana suddenly placed her coffee cup down along with the file. "You really want to know why?"

"Well I'm asking you," Nishigaki told her. "I want an honest answer."

"Fine," Kana cleared her throat. "I don't like the fact that you think you can get with every woman you see just by flattering them constantly—you hit on one girl and then you jump to another if you get bored or it doesn't work out the way you wanted it too," she began. "And then you see me—the one that told you no straight in your face. You see me as a challenge and you're only in on it for the chase. You're an amazing doctor and I respect you for that and for being a colleague but that's it."

Her words hit him like a punch to the face. Is that what she really thinks?

"So what if I told you that I actually want to be with you?"

"I won't believe you," she said simply, which surprised him. He cleared his throat. "Why's that?"

"Because that's not the idea you're giving me,"

"Then what idea am I giving you?" he asked. She stared straight at him. "I think you know the answer to that," she shrugged. He's flirted, flattered and complimented her more than any other person in the hospital and she remains uninterested. He doesn't understand her; she's such complex woman.

"I see," Nishigaki lied. He had no idea what he was doing wrong. Kana raised her eyebrows. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"No that's all," he responded. He wanted to ask what idea he was giving her, but he decided against it.

"I hope I didn't hit a nerve," Kana told him. The older doctor smirked. "Don't worry, you didn't."

Kana nodded and stood from the table. "Thanks for the coffee; I have to get going."

"I'll see you later," Nishigaki told her and watched her leave the cafeteria.

**o.O.o**

Now, it was time to finally go home. Although the day was peaceful, it drags on boringly when you have nothing to do. Nishigaki gathered his things from his office and after putting on his jacket, he closed his briefcase—which is full of paperwork he has to catch up with—and made his way out of his office.

He walked down the hallway calmly, saying goodnight to any patient, nurse or doctor that happened to walk by. He hasn't seen Kana in a while however. He saw her once after his talk with her in the cafeteria; he saw her picking up some paperwork at the nurses' station. He saw her but apparently she didn't see him.

He walked into the doctors' parking lot. He walked a bit more, staying to his left where he remembers he parked his car.

Finally, he reached his car. It was a slick and shiny black _Mercedes-Benz CLS550_. He pressed the button on his car key, making the German car beep and its lights flash momentarily. He opened the car door and sat on the leather driver's seat. He placed the briefcase on the passenger seat and closed the door. The car smelled as though he'd gotten it yesterday—which he didn't. He's had this car for at least three years, but it still had the new car smell.

Turning the key in the slot, the car's mechanisms lit to life. He grasped the shift knob and switched from parking to reverse and began to back up the car. He drove out of the parking lot and into the streets of Tokyo.

As he was stuck at the red light, he couldn't help but think of his colleague. Can she be right? Is that how he really, truly acts? She is indeed hard to get; but she's just stubborn—_very_ stubborn. That's her problem—she's stubborn. The question still roams his inner thoughts: why is she so unyielding? What is he doing wrong?

He jumped at the honking of the cars behind him. He was so deep in thought; he didn't notice the green light had come up. He sighed as he quickly stepped on the accelerator and moved along on the street.


	12. Absent

"Good morning," Kana yawned as she walked into the nurses' station with Kotoko and her cousin.

"Good morning!" Marina, Tomoko and Moto-chan grinned. Keita merely nodded and gave a soft smile.

"Dr. Irie," the chief nurse, Hosoi Sayuri, called out.

"Which one?" The Irie cousins both said at once. The robust nurse sighed and looked directly at Kana. "You're head doctor for today."

"Isn't that Nishigaki's job?" Kana raised an eyebrow. The nurse nodded. "Yes, but he's out today so I was told to inform you that you will be filling in for him today."

"He's out?" Irie blinked. "Is he sick?"

"He signed it as a vacation day but that's not the point," the nurse glanced at the female Irie. "You have four surgeries scheduled for today and Irie is your assistant."

"Is that so?" Kana smile and nodded. "Alright,"

**o.O.o**

"You're a better doctor than me," Kana sighed as she walked out of the operating room. Naoki gave her an almost invisible smirk. "Why thank you."

"I'm serious," Kana nudged at him with her elbow. "Kotoko's a lucky girl."

Naoki sighed and rolled his eyes, making Kana giggle. "Have you ever thought of having kids?"

"I want to finish my internship first," Naoki answered. "We'll figure it out after that happens."

"Hmm," Kana nodded. Naoki nudged at her with his elbow. "You're going to be the godmother."

"I'll be honored," Kana smiled. "You want a boy or a girl?"

"I don't mind, just not twins; Kotoko and my mother are going to go insane," he sighed heavily. Kana laughed. "I can just imagine them!"

Naoki rolled his eyes. "What about you?"

"What—kids?" Kana shrugged. "Maybe one day; who knows?"

The two doctors made their way out of the room and into the hallway. As they walked, Kana couldn't help but feel uneasy about Nishigaki's absence. Was he sick? The nurse said he checked it off as a vacation day but it's not like him to miss a day at work. May be he's just stressed? Who knows?


	13. Is He Alright?

Kana yawned as she walked through the hallways. Although a bit sleepy, she'll snap out of it in a while and get on with her busy day at the hospital.

As she dropped off the reports she'd taken home at the reception desk, she made her way to the elevator to go up to her department. As she waited for the elevator to arrive, she suddenly felt weight on her right shoulder and the smell of coffee.

Kana looked to her left and saw Nishigaki standing next to her, drinking his own coffee and his free hand resting on her shoulder holding the coffee he got for her.

"Hello," Kana said as she took the coffee from his hand and shook him off her shoulder. "Are you feeling alright?" The moment she said this, the elevator doors opened. The two doctors walked in and Nishigaki pushed the button for the designated floor.

"Why would you say that?" Nishigaki blinked. Kana raised an eyebrow. "You were absent yesterday."

"Oh—that," the man shrugged his shoulders as he took another sip of his coffee. "I just needed some fresh air."

"Fresh air?" Kana asked, raising an eyebrow. He looked down at her and once he caught her eyes with hers, he smiled genuinely—Kana has never seen him smile like that.

"Even I need a rest sometimes, Irie," he said. Kana broke their eye contact and nodded, sipping her coffee. "Alright then,"

"Were you worried?" he asked.

"I just found it weird that you'd miss work," Kana said simply. Nishigaki smiled as the doors to the elevator opened. He held the door and gestured with his hand. "Ladies first,"

Kana walked out of the elevator along with Nishigaki. He suddenly patted her shoulder gently. "I have to start catching up with my patients. I'll see you around Irie," he smiled again and with that, walked off into the hallway. Kana rolled her eyes and began walking in the opposite direction. He's acting strange, she realized. He's never smiled at her like that; it's always been that smirk; now it's a kind smile. And he didn't even hit on her. _That's odd,_ Kana thought to herself, but shrugged. _Oh well._

**o.O.o**

Kana looked once more through her files as she walked towards the reception desk. As she neared, she saw Nishigaki's form resting on top of the desk, speaking to the nurse that happens to be there. Kana rolled her eyes as she got closer to the desk, but her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she began hearing the conversation.

"I need you to have a nurse check up on the woman in room 33 two times a day and make follow-up reports on her progress with the medication and have Yukimura from room 23 released today," Nishigaki said smoothly. The nurse nodded in understanding and picked up the phone to start making the calls. Kana watched as Nishigaki caught sight of her walking over and gave her that sweet smile again.

"Hello there Irie," he greeted her.

"Hi," Kana nodded. The older doctor noticed the files she carried and reached out for them.

"Here, let me help you with those,"

"Uh—it's ok…" Kana could say that much before he had taken them from her hands. He read the tag on the folders swiftly and grinned at her. "I'm actually headed to Department 3 for a meeting; I'll turn these in for you."

"Uh…thanks—"

"I'll see you around," he smiled and walked off into the hallway. Kana blinked ten times a second. Did this man get hit in the head yesterday? Not that she didn't expect him to do her favors—he normally acts like a gentleman (when not acting like a complete flirt) but this was just strange; he wasn't hitting on the nurse, he was actually talking about work-related topics.

However, Kana merely shook her head and turned around and began walking down the hallway where she had come from.

**o.O.o**

"Hey, Nishigaki?" Kana knocked softly on his office's door. The doctor turned on his swivel chair and smiled upon seeing her.

"Hello there Irie; can I help you?"

"Are you _sure_ you're alright?" Kana asked him slowly. Nishigaki's smile faded. "What do you mean?"

"You've been acting strange today," Kana frowned at him. He blinked. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Kana sighed irritably. He's obviously up to something and it was stupid of her to actually ask him; like he'd tell her what his latest scheme is. "Never mind, it's ok,"

"No but I really don't know what you're talking about,"

"I said its ok," Kana nodded and made her way out of his office and into the hallway where she proceeded to walk down the hallway.


	14. The Pain of Loss

He's been acting _very_ strange, and Kana can't put her finger on it. It makes her uneasy. It's been nearly a week and she hasn't asked her out on a date or shamelessly flirted with her. He's just smiled and acted genuinely around her. To top it all off, he hasn't been hitting on any of the nurses; he treats them nicely like any person would, but he won't flatter them constantly like he used too. Kana has seen this a few times already: he'd tell them what to do, smile and then walk away leaving the nurse looking confused—even _they_ are being thrown off by his behavior. What's he trying to accomplish? Kana asked Naoki, since he's Nishigaki's assistant, but he hasn't figured out why he's acting that way either. He told her not to worry about it, but she just can't get it out of her head. Then Marina comes along and theorizes that he might be in a relationship but Kana finds this hard to believe; that man would hit on anything with a pulse—whether or not he's in a relationship. Kana's not complaining either, she likes having favors done for her and seeing his sweet smile, but a wave of uneasiness washes over her. She's clueless to what he's doing and she asked him the day after he came back from his vacation day, but he claimed he didn't know what she was talking about.

Kana believes something happened during that one day he was absent. Maybe family matters? She scratched that off; why would he be all happy when something is happening within his family? Kana can't think of anything else. However, being the woman she is, she keeps this to herself and asks no further inquiries to the man in question.

**o.O.o**

"I'm working the nightshift huh?" Kana stretched her arms in the air as she looked at the list for nightshift-working doctors and nurses. Her eyes suddenly widened slightly at the sight of the name underneath hers: _Dr. Nishigaki Touma._

She sighed heavily and walked out of the doctors' lounge. As she walked, she found Nishigaki organizing some files in the nurses' station. He looked concentrated in what he was doing. She stood there like an idiot until he felt her stare and looked up, smiling.

"Well hello there Irie," he said smoothly. Kana nodded and leaned against the doorframe, putting her hands in her lab coat's pockets. "We're working the nightshift."

"We?" he blinked. She nodded. "I just checked."

"Well this is our first time working the nightshift together," he grinned.

"I guess so," Kana nodded.

The night rolled into the city of Tokyo. It's all been quiet; no emergencies so far and the nurses and doctors fought to keep themselves awake. Kana sat at the doctors' lounge reading a magazine while Nishigaki was catching up with some paperwork. At some point, however, there was a loud rumbling noise outside. Kana and Nishigaki both looked at each other.

"Is it raining?" Kana asked. Nishigaki shrugged and stood from his seat. He went for the door and walked out, but left the door open. A few minutes later, he returned and nodded quickly. "It's pouring."

Kana raised her eyebrows as thunder struck outside once more. "It'll stop soon."

"I hope so," Nishigaki nodded. The two doctors continued with what they were doing. Kana managed to read the entire magazine word for word and Nishigaki, out of boredom, reread the reports he'd written.

Suddenly, a quick beeping sound came from Kana's form. Nishigaki looked up to see her reach into her lab coat's pocket and pull out her medical beeper. Faster than light, she stood from her seat and stuffed the beeper back in her pocket.

"Emergency," she said as she made her way out. Nishigaki closely followed behind her, speed-walking down the hallways until they reached the emergency room. A nurse caught sight of the doctors and led them to where the patient was. It was an old man, 70 years old according to the file the nurse handed to Kana. The old man was cringing, his face was red and his hands clutched his chest, which was abnormally swollen. Nishigaki examined the man as Kana read the file.

"I think he's having a heart attack," Nishigaki said as he heard the man's heart through his stethoscope. "But at the same time, I don't."

"What do you mean?" Kana pulled her penlight and checked the man's eyes. Nishigaki shook his head and glanced at a nurse. "Give him an emergency x-ray,"

The man was rushed into an x-ray room where the scan was quickly done. Kana came into the room where Nishigaki placed the x-ray sheet on the light box. Both doctors' eyes widened upon seeing a dark spot around the area of the chest that was causing the man pain. Nishigaki was right about the man not having a heart attack but…

"He's bleeding internally…" Kana said softly. "But where's it coming from?"

"My guess—a broken artery," Nishigaki said thoughtfully. "We have to get him to surgery as fast as possible,"

The old man was prepared for surgery and as the nurses placed the latex gloves on the doctors, Kana met Nishigaki's gray eyes.

"You have experience with open heart surgery," he said. "You lead."

Kana nodded and stood by the patient. Once the incision was made, all that was seen was scarlet. The blood was everywhere, but Kana went on as the nurses and Nishigaki tried to extract as much stray blood as possible while at the same time, pumping blood into his system to avoid too much blood loss. It could be a broken vessel, maybe a valve or like Nishigaki said: an artery. Maybe the aorta is the one causing this. Kana searched carefully but quickly.

"Blood pressure and pulse are lowering doctor," a nurse said, her tone betraying fright. Both Kana and Nishigaki looked over at the heart monitor to see the waves on the screen farther apart and moving slowly. That wasn't good.

"Try the aorta," Nishigaki told her.

"Alright," Kana went for it and searched for any puncture or opening with the artery. The task was hard enough, and the pool of blood at her hands wasn't making it any easier. The nurses as well as Nishigaki were trying their hardest to drain the blood, but more kept appearing. And more, and more.

"Blood pressure and pulse is increasing doctor!" the nurse cried. Kana didn't take her eyes off of what she was doing but Nishigaki looked up at the monitor.

"What the hell?" he growled. "Irie, have you found—"

"No!" Kana clenched her teeth under her face mask. She focused her eyes more, thinking that it'll give her some sort of x-ray vision. The rapid beeping of the heart monitor was driving her crazy.

Suddenly, the monitor's rapid beeping went still. The sound is a sound that terrifies _all_ doctors. Nishigaki quickly took an internal defibrillator and quickly handed it to Kana, who placed it on the old man's heart.

"Charge 200," Kana told Nishigaki, who flipped the switch. "200, charged."

"Clear," Kana jumped at the shock. There was no change.

"Charge 300," Kana said. She jumped from the shock once more and there was still no change.

"Charge 360," Kana said, this time, her voice betraying anxiety. Once more, she jumped from the shock but the monitor was still holding its note steadily.

"Irie," Nishigaki called to her as she pressed the defibrillator at the man's heart. "Charge again."

"Irie," Nishigaki called to her a bit more forcefully. The monitor was driving Kana crazy. She couldn't let this man die. "Charge again!"

"Irie!" Nishigaki's deep voice boomed loudly. Kana looked up, her eyes widened. Nishigaki shook his head and whispered, "He's gone."

Kana slowly removed the defibrillator and placed them on the tray, letting them slide out of her hands. Sighing, she removed her gloves and lowered her mask, glancing at the clock on the wall. "Time of death: 2:47 a.m."

After cleaning up, the doctors made their way out of the OR and into the hallway. They were approached by a woman who had been sitting on a nearby bench. She was probably in her early to mid-thirties.

"How's my father?" she asked. Kana and Nishigaki simultaneously felt a tug at their souls, but Kana took a deep breath and kept a straight face, "Ma'am…we're very sorry but there was a complication in the surgery and your father didn't make it."

There was a moment of silence. The woman looked from Kana to Nishigaki, then to Kana again. "No—No, he's going to be fine—he's fine—"

"Ma'am, we're sorry, he didn't make it." Kana repeated herself. The woman's eyes began to redden and water. "No, this can't happen! He was fine!" the woman cried, angry and devastated. She suddenly clutched Kana's scrubs. "You're a doctor! You're supposed to—"

"We're sorry for your loss but we did everything we could!" Nishigaki separated the distressed woman from Kana. "We're sorry."

Tears ran down the woman's cheeks. "C-Can I…?"

"Of course," Nishigaki caught on and gestured for a nurse. The nurse came over and took the woman by the shoulders gently and led her away.

The sobs of the woman softly echoed in the dim hallway. The two doctors remained silent, listening to the sobs slowly fade away. They just stood there for a few more seconds in the silence of the hospital before Kana suddenly turned on her heel and made her way down the hallway. Nishigaki opened his mouth to say something, but before he had the chance to, Kana was already out of sight.


	15. Kana's Story

The rain hasn't ceased, as a matter of fact; it might have even gotten stronger. The light from the lightning would illuminate momentarily, and was always followed by the rumble of thunder in the distance.

On a window ledge in a secluded part of the hospital, Kana sat with the side of her head resting against the glass being repeatedly pelted by the harsh rain outside. Kana had her arms crossed over her belly and her legs were folded up to the point where her thighs almost touched her chest. She sighed heavily as she watched the rain spray on the window. It was raining so much, it was practically impossible to see beyond the window. The precipitation wasn't helping her current mood either.

"There you are," a deep voice said softly. "I was looking for you."

With her head still resting on the glass, her eyes drifted in front of her where Nishigaki stood, holding two cups of coffee. He held out the cup of his left hand, "I thought you might need this."

"Thanks," Kana nodded and took the cup. Her eyes went back to the window before snapping towards Nishigaki, who took a seat in front of her on the ledge. Kana said nothing and sipped her coffee. However, she did feel his glance on her.

"Are you ok?"

She glanced over at him. His expression betrayed his level of concern. She merely nodded. Nishigaki sighed. "I hope you became a doctor knowing this was bound to happen once in a while."

"I know; unfortunately it's not the first time," she spoke softly. Nishigaki rested his back on the wall and glanced at the window. He was shocked when he heard her say, "I just knew how that woman felt."

He glanced at her with wide eyes. Apparently, she realized what she blurted out and slowly met his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed together as he nervously cleared his throat, "W-What do you mean?"

Kana held his glance before sighing and looking out the window again. There was a moment of silence, before she looked at him again. "I'll tell you out of confidence Nishigaki; I hope you keep this between you and me,"

"Of course," Nishigaki nodded slowly. Kana took a deep breath and looked out to the rain outside.

"My mom passed away before I could meet her," she began. "I only know what she looks like through pictures. She died when I was about a year old of some disease—I never bothered asking what it was and frankly I don't care."

Nishigaki clenched his jaw tight as she continued, "After my mom died, my dad moved in with his brother which is Naoki's father."

"So that's why you're so close to Irie," Nishigaki nodded. A small smile graced her lips but her eyes never left the window. "We grew up together and he's always been so protective even though I'm older than he is,"

"I've noticed," Nishigaki nodded. Kana continued, "So we moved into Uncle Shigeki's house and I grew up there and everything was nice. But when I was fourteen, my dad collapsed at home. We rushed him to the hospital and the doctors decided that emergency surgery was necessary," she trailed off. "About an hour later, the doctors said he didn't make it."

Nishigaki took a deep breath before letting it out slowly. "I'm very sorry Irie."

"It's alright, it happened a long time ago," she said. "That's the reason why I became a doctor—I didn't want others to experience what I have."

"There was nothing we could've done," Nishigaki said firmly. He didn't want her blaming herself.

"I know but doctors make a change in this world, even if we're not perfect," she replied. "Even if one of my patients unfortunately passes away at my hands; there's always going to be another that'll make it and go home to his family."

Nishigaki blinked. The first day they ever did a surgery together; she got emotional at the sight of the family reunited post-surgery. He understands now.

"You're very strong Irie," Nishigaki smiled softly. "I respect you for that."

"Thank you," she met his eyes this time. The older doctor nodded. "And you're an amazing doctor; your parents would be very proud of you."

Kana smiled softly as she looked out the window again. Lightning illuminated her face for a split second. "I hope so,"

The doctors sat in silence as the thunder rumbled outside and the continuous _tap, tap, tap_ of the rain against the window. The woman sighed. "Can we…change the subject?"

"Of course, of course," Nishigaki nodded. "What would you like to talk about?"

Kana met his eyes and shrugged. "Why did _you_ become a doctor?"

Nishigaki cleared his throat. "Why I became a doctor…?" he rolled his eyes in a bashful way. "I'd rather not say considering you just told me about—you know…"

"Like I said, it happened a long time ago; just tell me," Kana smirked. "Is it embarrassing?"

"Not really," Nishigaki shrugged. "But people find it hard to believe."

"Try me," Kana smirked again. Nishigaki nodded and placed his coffee cup in front of him before beginning, "I should start by saying that my father was a physics professor in Tokyo University and my mother was an eye doctor; they're both retired now obviously."

"An eye doctor?" Kana raised an eyebrow. The older doctor rolled his eyes as he slipped his glasses off and held them up. "I'm the only person in the family that had eye problems—_only _one,"

"Why don't you just get contacts?"

"Contacts are a pain," Nishigaki put on his glasses again and smirked. "Besides; I look smarter with glasses."

Kana rolled her eyes as he continued, "Anyway, I'm the oldest of my family as well as the only one to be a boy,"

"You have sisters?" Kana raised her eyebrows as a smile graced her lips. Nishigaki nodded. "Three."

"Oh God," Kana giggled. Nishigaki shook his head. "Haruhi is my oldest sister; she's three years younger than me. Then there's Keiko and Miyuki who are four years younger than me—they're identical twins."

Kana nodded as he continued, "Now back to your question; when I was about eight years old, Haruhi just turned seven and my parents gave her one of those toy medical kits that brought everything.

"I remembered Haruhi loved it, but playing with Keiko and Miyuki, none of them wanted to be the doctor; they all wanted to be nurses or the patients," he sighed. "So they asked big brother Touma to be the doctor. At first I didn't want to do it since I thought girls were icky and dumb at the time,"

Kana snickered and Nishigaki smirked. "But I got into it after a few times and I loved it so that's when I decided to become a doctor."

The two doctors sat in silence before Kana burst out laughing. Nishigaki found himself blushing. "What's so—?"

"That's so cute!" Kana covered her mouth with her hand. "I never thought that was your reason for becoming a doctor!"

"That's why people don't believe it," he chuckled. Kana smiled. "That's adorable."

"Let's keep that between us alright? I don't want that leaking through the hospital," he looked around for any stray nurses. Kana giggled. "Your secret's safe with me, Nishigaki."

"Thank you," he smiled. Kana merely smiled back.

**o.O.o**

"It's still pouring…" Kana muttered as she looked out one of the windows. It was time to go home but it was raining cats and dogs out there. It's been raining for hours; Kana wonders how long it will last.

"It is," Nishigaki came up from behind her. Kana squinted. _How am I supposed to get home? _

"Don't you normally walk home?" Nishigaki asked. Kana blinked out of her thoughts. "Normally yes, but I guess I'll have to call a taxi—" she was cut off by Nishigaki.

"I'll drive you home,"


	16. Sleep Over

"You'll take me home?" Kana said in shock as she turned towards her colleague. Nishigaki shrugged while he nodded. "It's raining; it's the least I can do."

Kana looked out, seeing the rain as it hit the ground continuously outside. Kana then glanced back at Nishigaki, who was patiently awaiting her answer.

"Fine," Kana said after a minute of thinking it over. A smile graced his lips. "Great; you'll need to give me directions though."

"That's no problem," Kana nodded. The two doctors calmly walked to the multiple-story tall indoor parking lot. Nishigaki pressed a button on his keys, making the lights of his car flash. Kana blinked. What Marina said was true, he does have a _Mercedes_.

She neared the passenger seat, but before she could take the handle, Nishigaki beat her to it and opened the door for her. Kana raised an eyebrow at him, which he returned with a kind smile, before she sat on the comfortable leather chair. Soon, Nishigaki sat at the driver's seat and turned the car on. He backed up; drove out of the parking lot and the continuous _tap, tap, tap_ of the stubborn rain hit the car. Once he drove into traffic, Kana began to tell him the directions.

"At the next light, turn left then turn left again at the second stop," she told him. He nodded he turned the wheel and took the turns she instructed him to. As he drove down the neighborhood, the two began to notice, through the blinding rain, that there were flashing lights in the normally quiet neighborhood.

Kana yelped suddenly when Nishigaki slammed at the brakes, sending her forward; if it wasn't for the seatbelt, her head would've hit the windshield.

"What's wrong?" Kana gasped in shock. Nishigaki gestured in front of him as he flicked the switch of the windshield wipers to move faster. Squinting, Kana read what was in front of the car. It was a sign. A sign reading: ROAD CLOSED.

"The road's flooded," Nishigaki told her, seeing she was silent. He turned to her. "Is there another way to get you to your house?"

Kana gulped and slumped back on the car seat. She scanned her mind for any alternative route before realizing that the Irie house stood on a one-way road—a _downhill_ one-way road.

_Great_, she thought bitterly.

"Irie," Nishigaki's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry," Kana shook her head. "No, there isn't."

He raised his eyebrows in shock. "You're kidding."

"It's a one-way road," Kana sighed. "And of course it has to be downhill; no wonder it's flooded."

Hearing this, Nishigaki began to back up the car and go back the way he came from until he was driving into the traffic of the city.

"If you'd like," Nishigaki began. Kana glanced at him, eyebrows furrowing. She was just about to tell him to leave her at a nearby hotel. "You can stay at my house until tomorrow."

"I'm sure the rain will clear out," Kana said quickly. His eyes remained on the road, "This rain isn't showing signs of stopping any time soon and it's ridiculously late," he glanced at her this time. "Stop being stubborn, Irie."

"I'm not being stubborn!" she glared at him. "I can't stay at your house; I barely know you."

"You know me well enough to step into my car," he pointed out. The statement caught her by surprise. He's completely right.

"You don't trust me?" he asked. The woman met his eyes for a few seconds before looking out the window. Nishigaki sighed heavily. "I don't understand you, Irie. You trust me enough to get in my car and to tell me a personal story; yet you don't trust me when I tell you to stay over for a night at my house."

"I never said I didn't trust you," Kana told him. Nishigaki furrowed his eyebrows. "Then what is it?"

"I…I don't know," she said softly. Nishigaki sighed. "I'm only offering for you to stay. It's only a night." he said.

"Alright then," Kana said after a brief silence. "I'll stay over…and thank you."

"It's no problem," Nishigaki gave her a soft smile. Kana nodded and took her phone from her purse and dialed the Irie household's number.

"Kana! Are you alright! It's late and it's pouring!" her aunt's voice blasted out of her phone. Kana sighed as she continued asking questions. "Auntie I'm fine, don't worry."

"Can you get home?" she asked.

"No, the road's flooded so it's closed,"

"Where are you going to stay then?" Noriko asked.

"Nishigaki offered that I stay at his house for the night so—"

"Oh I see; have fun!" Noriko said happily and hung up. Kana sighed irritably as Nishigaki chuckled. "I heard that."

"Sometimes I think she needs medication," Kana rolled her eyes just as her phone began to ring again. Seeing the caller ID, she flipped it open. "Auntie blurted it out already?"

"You actually agreed?" her cousin said in a firm tone.

"Yes, he—"

"You know how he is, Kana,"

"I know how to take care of myself," Kana frowned. "Don't worry, it's just for tonight."

"Be careful,"

"You're acting like I'm going to do something dangerous," Kana said. Naoki sighed from the other line. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Ok, I'll see you tomorrow," Kana closed her phone.

"That was Irie wasn't it?" Nishigaki raised an eyebrow. Kana nodded. "Yeah, was it obvious?"

"I heard the 'be careful'," Nishigaki rolled his eyes.

Kana shook her head and looked out the car window. She then glanced over at Nishigaki, who was concentrated on the slippery road. No more words were spoken as Nishigaki directed the car into an apartment building where their ears got a rest from the continuous pelting of the rain when he drove into the indoor parking lot. They both got out of the car and Kana followed Nishigaki into the building where he led her into the elevator and pushed the button that had the number eight on it. The elevator quickly got them to their designated location, and Nishigaki led her down the carpeted hallway until he reached a door with the numbers: 812.

Once he unlocked the door with his keys, he opened the door and let Kana walk in first. She subconsciously looked around and was surprised at the pleasant arrangement of his home. Upon entering, the kitchen was to the right. It had what any kitchen has; wooden counters, sink, stove, refrigerator, cupboards and a microwave set between two of the cupboards. On one of the counters was a coffee machine.

Continuing beyond the kitchen was the living room. It had a plasma screen television hung on the wall, a comfy-looking sofa and a coffee table separating the two. Between the living room and the kitchen was a small space for a round, glass table with four chairs, which was no doubt the dining area.

"Make yourself at home," Nishigaki flipped on the light switch by the front door. "Would you like to take a shower?"

"Umm…" Kana stammered before regaining her composure. "But I don't have anything—"

"Come this way," Nishigaki said and led her to the single door on the left wall. He opened it and she saw his bedroom. It was normal; it had a queen-sized bed (which was unmade), two nightstands on either side, and a desk on the left side of the room that had a computer and other office-related things on it. To the right wall, there were two doors. Nishigaki walked into the door on the right, which Kana realized was his closet as she followed him and stood at the door frame. She watched him look around the hangers until he pulled a shirt from one of them and handed it to her upon walking out of the closet.

"Is this ok?" he asked. She nodded as she took it. "It's fine."

He pointed at the other door. "Bathroom's in there, the towels are in the closet inside,"

"Thank you," Kana told him, which he returned with a smile and a pat on the shoulder. "It's alright."

She took a very brief shower, for she was embarrassed to be staying at her colleague's house like this. After her shower, she slowly buttoned up the shirt and looked down. The shirt reached a bit above her knees; Nishigaki is a tall man after all. She awkwardly walked out of the bathroom and turned to see Nishigaki walked out of the closet holding what appeared to be his sleeping attire. He raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of her. "That was quick,"

She remained silent and pulled his shirt downwards. She looked up at him when he cleared his throat. "You can get anything in the kitchen if you'd like."

"Thanks but I'm not hungry," Kana said softly. Nishigaki nodded and walked into the bathroom. Once she heard the shower turn on, she looked around his bedroom and caught sight of two picture frames on his computer desk. She walked over and took one of them in her hand. In the picture was a young Nishigaki wearing graduate robes and holding what looked to be his rolled up diploma in his right hand. He was smiling as the girl to his left held his mortarboard on her head and two other girls, who looked exactly the same except for the clothing they wore, laughed with him. Behind them stood a man and a woman who were smiling at the scene before them. The man bore a striking resemblance to Nishigaki in facial structure, eyes and complexion, but Kana could see that Nishigaki had gotten his wavy black hair from the woman next to him.

The other picture showed his family again, but this time, it had another family, since it was a wedding picture. It was most likely the groom's family, since he was standing to the right of who Kana believes is Nishigaki's oldest sister Haruhi since the twins look exactly the same. Nishigaki, however, had his arm wrapped around his sister, looking beautiful in a white bridal dress, and was more or less jokingly pulling her away from her newly wedded husband with his tongue childishly stuck out. The groom's confused face was the last touch to the perfect picture.

"My sister's wedding," Nishigaki's voice suddenly sliced through the silence, making Kana jump.

"Haruhi, right?" Kana predicted, looking over her shoulder at him. He wore a simple t-shirt and pajama pants. He smiled warmly. "Yeah, I was so proud of her."

"Are your other two sisters married also?"

"Yes, they are," he replied. "And I would have a picture, it's just that they got married in the same wedding so both of the grooms' families were there and the picture's a mile long."

Kana snickered as she placed the frame back on the tabletop. "So…you're the only one that hasn't married?"

"Pretty much," Kana watched him shrug and walk towards the left side of his bed and grab one of the pillows. The woman blinked.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He glanced at her as if she was crazy, but his expression softened. "I'm getting a pillow; I'm sleeping on the couch."

Kana felt something tug at her heart. She was rooted to the spot as he started to make his way towards the door.

"Wait, Nishigaki,"

He was at the doorframe when he heard her. He turned his head. "Yes?"

"Look…" Kana sighed. "We've both had a rough night and it's late…" she trailed off, but continued after a short second. "I don't mind if you and I…sleep together…"

When Nishigaki remained silent, Kana blushed and internally panicked. "I mean—it's your house, I'd hate for you to sleep uncomfortably just because—"

"I understand, Irie—it's fine," he smiled softly. Kana returned the smile as best she could. She's never felt more awkward in her life.

She decided to take the left side of the bed and she rested on her side, hugging the pillow. The pillow…it smells like him; like his intoxicating cologne that she sometimes smells lingering from him early in the mornings in the hospital.

She felt the soft mattress sink next to her and breathed in deeply when she felt his body heat radiating into her back. She heard the sound of his glasses being placed on the wooden surface of the nightstand and then, the room went dark when she heard the _click_ of the lamp.

"Goodnight, Nishigaki," she said.

"Goodnight Irie," he responded and tossed on the mattress a bit until he was comfortably on his side; his back facing Kana's back. Soon, the stress of the nightshift took a toll on the two doctors, and they drifted off into sleep.


	17. A Good Kind of Change

Kana's minty green eyes slowly opened. The room looked unfamiliar from underneath her lashes, and when she opened them completely, she realized she had stayed over at her colleague's house…and slept in the same bed.

Kana right then and there noticed he had gotten up much earlier since he wasn't in the bed. She's been waking up at the same time for a very long time, therefore Kana doesn't need an alarm clock; she already has an inner chronometer that allows her to wake up at a certain time.

She pushed herself up with her elbows and stretched her arms in front of her. She then got up from the bed and yawned. She looked around the room and saw that the bathroom light was on and the door was open. Curiosity got the best of her and she slowly walked closer to the door and peeked inside.

She blushed upon seeing Nishigaki as he stood before the sink shirtless. His back was facing her, but she could clearly see that he was shaving, which explained why he was wearing no shirt and the bathroom was steamy, causing the mirror to be a bit fogged up. She realized he'd opened the bathroom door for that reason; he was going to suffocate with the steam if he didn't. She also couldn't help but smile upon seeing him with a towel wrapped around his waist, but she could clearly tell that he was fully clothed underneath since she could see his usual beige slacks and black dress shoes. He looked ridiculous.

"Good morning," his voice made her jump and look up. Their eyes met via the mirror, which he had just wiped the steam off as his hand was still on the glass. Kana couldn't help but smile at the white shaving cream on the left side of his chin but not on the right side.

"Good morning," Kana responded.

"Do you need the bathroom now? I'm not done yet," he said, looking over his shoulder. Kana shook her head. "It's ok; I'll wait for you to finish," she pointed her thumb in the direction of the bedroom door. "Would you mind if I made some coffee?"

"Make some for me too while you're at it," he turned back to the mirror, tilted his head slightly and ran the razor over his cheek and neck gently. "Cups are on the top shelf."

Nodding, Kana made her way towards the kitchen. She eyed the coffee maker and read every button on it carefully, for she had no idea how to work this thing. The coffee powder wasn't far from the machine, so she poured some in and then added enough water for two mugs and then some. As the coffee began to brew, she opened the top shelf and there were a few mugs lined up. She reached for two and when she closed the cupboard, she saw Nishigaki walk into the kitchen. This time, he was wearing his typical, burgundy, button-up shirt neatly tucked in but his tie was untied as it sat under his collar.

"You don't know how to tie a tie?" Kana raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I know," he said. "It's just too early in the morning to—" he was cut off when Kana swiftly got in front of him and took his tie in her hands. She looped it around a few times and a perfect double Windsor was at Nishigaki's throat in no time.

"My dad never learned; so it was up to me to tie his ties every morning," she smiled at the memory and patted his chest. "I'm going to get dressed…" she trailed off to smirk. "You smell really nice, by the way."

She saw his Adam's apple bob against the knot she just tied at his throat, but he smiled. "Why thank you."

With that, Kana walked into his bedroom, freshened up in the bathroom and got dressed. When she walked back into the kitchen, Nishigaki was drinking from his cup and held out what seemed to be her cup. She took it from his hand and sipped a bit of the caffeine.

After the coffee was finished, Nishigaki and Kana made their way out of the apartment and to the parking lot where they got into his car and drove to the hospital. Upon walking into the hospital, Nishigaki had a meeting in another department so they parted ways at the elevator. When the doors of the elevator opened on Kana's department, four pairs of bright eyes were on her as she walked out of the elevator.

"What happened?" Marina was first to speak as Kana neared them.

"Nothing," Kana said simply. Marina raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you."

"Was he good?" Moto-chan asked. Kotoko and Tomoko blushed. "Moto-chan; don't ask that!"

"You guys are so perverted, nothing happened!" Kana cried.

"Did you at least see him naked?" Marina asked. There was a moment of silence before Kana shrugged. "I saw him without a shirt."

"Was he hot?" Moto-chan smirked. Kana smiled shyly. "I guess…"

The girls squealed. Kotoko smiled softly. "Are you sure you aren't feeling anything for him?"

"Hmm, why?" Kana asked.

"I dunno, you seem pretty comfortable around him now then you were before," Moto-chan smirked. The girls began to giggle as Kana sighed heavily. Suddenly they stopped giggling and before Kana could ask why, a voice spoke from behind her.

"Kana,"

Kana turned to see none other than her cousin, Naoki. Blinking but smiling, she greeted him. "Good morning Naoki," she looked behind her momentarily and saw that her nurse friends were nowhere to be found which caused her eyebrow to twitch. _Way to back me up guys…_

"Naoki, I know what you're going to ask and no, nothing happened," Kana said. Naoki's expression darkened. "Kana—"

"Stop being so overprotective," she rolled her eyes. "I get what you're trying to do and I appreciate it but we're not kids anymore."

"I know that," Irie said sternly. "I just don't want him hurting you; I know him longer than you have."

"Don't give him hell, Naoki; he was actually very nice to me,"

Irie sighed heavily. "If you say so,"

**o.O.o**

The day was bright and joyful, Kana realized, as she stepped outside to the hospital's gardens; it wasn't early enough to be noon but it wasn't late enough for the sun to start setting either. Some nurses pushed patients in wheelchairs so they could get fresh air, the day was beautiful and the birds chirped sweet melodies. Kana smiled softly as she saw Keita talking and laughing with one of his patients, Akiko.

She walked over to a bench and sat down. She breathed in and out slowly. She hasn't had a break the entire morning so might as well take advantage of the nice weather and peace.

"Irie," a voice called out to her. She opened her eyes and caught the stormy grey eyes of Dr. Nishigaki. He smiled. "Can I sit?"

"Sure," she scooted to the left and he sat down. Kana heard him sigh heavily. "Irie almost ate me alive this morning."

"You're not the only one," Kana laughed. "What did he say?"

"The usual; she's my cousin, don't hurt her—you know," he sat up properly. "I hope I didn't do anything that might've made you uncomfortable."

"If you're talking about sleeping together; I didn't mind it," she shrugged. "I mean—we're both adults so…" she trailed off and held her glance towards the garden of flowers in the distance. She heard the man next to her sigh and relax against the bench.

"I suppose," he said softly but then smirked. "I don't mean to embarrass you or anything but you were practically smothering me the entire night."

Kana jumped and blushed. She glanced at him in disbelief, only to a see him raise an eyebrow with his smirk failing to cease. "Stop lying; that's not true!"

"I'm not lying," he chuckled. He casually threw his arm behind the bench and to his surprise; Kana didn't attempt to place a distance between them. But seeing as she was in a battle with herself trying to decide on what to believe, he added, "I've been sleeping on my own for a very long time, Irie; it didn't bother me at all to say the least."

Kana glanced at him in shock. He spoke before she could, "I know it's hard to believe but I've not been with as many women as the hospital rumors claim."

"And you're telling me this…why?" Kana asked slowly. Nishigaki shrugged. "I just thought it'd be good for you to know I'm not who the rumors describe me as,"

Kana let his words sink in. "Well, you've certainly not been acting like the man I first met when I got here,"

"What do you mean?" he asked, his eyes squinting in questioning. Kana shrugged. "I don't know you've just…changed—it's a good change, don't get me wrong; but I've noticed."

Kana watched him sit up on the bench properly and glance at her. "Is that so?"

She nodded and gave him a subconscious smile, to which he returned in a similar manner. However, he spoke gently, "Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" Kana hummed. He looked into her minty green eyes. "Are you doing anything this Saturday?"

Kana's heart skipped a beat and she found herself swallowing roughly. Nevertheless, she overcame this and shook her head. "I don't think so, why—"

"Will you go out to dinner with me then?" he asked her. She was taken aback by his question and she found herself actually thinking about a response. Should she refuse? She always has; but for some reason, she can't think of no as a possible answer but wasn't sure if she should agree either.

Her thoughts were interrupted when a small beeping sound came from her pocket. She took out the small medical pager. Nervously, she stood and faced Nishigaki, who just looked up at her curiously.

"There's an emergency, I—I have to go," she stuttered and began to quickly make her way back into the building.

**o.O.o**

Nighttime has crawled onto the hospital and those lucky enough to leave were doing so before something turned up. Kana was one of them, as she was extremely tired. That emergency that interrupted her from answering Nishigaki's request turned into an emergency surgery that last about two to three hours. Luckily, everything went smoothly and the patient is recovering but afterwards, she's been preoccupied with patients in the emergency room and it left her little time to think about her earlier encounter with her colleague.

Now however, as she walked down the hallways of her department, she was hit with the immaculate luck when she saw said colleague walking ahead of her in the quiet hallway. From what she could see, he was putting on his jacket, which meant he was getting ready to leave home.

Mustering up her courage, she quickened her pace to the point where Nishigaki sensed her presence and stopped walking and turned around. Upon seeing her, she saw a smile spread at his lips but his eyes had some sort of emotion in them she didn't quite catch.

"Hello there Irie," he greeted her. "Going home?"

"Yeah," she breathed, then sighed and looked up at him. "And about Saturday,"

She swore something flashed in his eyes, but she continued, a smile gracing her lips. "I'd love to go out to dinner with you."


	18. Date Night

"Auntie, it's just dinner, calm down!" Kana told her aunt as the woman began to jump up and down excitably. Her husband sat on the couch watching the scene quizzically, Yuki sighed heavily, Kotoko was smiling and Irie was merely flipping through a newspaper, although his eyes weren't reading the text.

"We need to go dress shopping! And we need to do your hair!" she cried happily. Kana sighed. "Auntie, its ok, I can do my own hair and I have a dress."

"But you need a new one!" she insisted. "Your date is tonight and you tell me this now?"

"If I told you sooner you would've acted crazier," Kana told her matter-of-factly. Noriko pouted. "Does he even know how to get here?"

"I told him to keep going on the street that was blocked and stop at the third house," she shook her head. "Anyway, it's just dinner; it's nothing to get all excited about."

"You're finally going to give me grandchildren!" she twirled around, completely ignoring her niece. Kana sighed and slapped her forehead.

"I thought you said you weren't interested," Kotoko teased her.

"Giving him a chance won't hurt," Kana forced herself to say. She hated to admit she was wrong—and stubborn.

"Are you sure about this?" Irie closed his newspaper. Kana shrugged. "Like I said, it won't hurt to give him a chance; he hasn't been harassing me like he used too so maybe he's...changed I guess?"

"He's probably up to something," Irie told her firmly. Kana shook her head. "I don't think so; if he was up to something he would've busted a move when I stayed over at his house."

"Did he?" Noriko asked with gleeful grin. Kana's eyebrow twitched. "Whose side are you on?"

**o.O.o**

Sighing, Kana looked at herself in the mirror in her room one more. Her aunt had forced her to go to the mall and buy her a new dress. It wasn't too extravagant; it was a simple black dress with an off-shoulder neckline. It wasn't exactly tight on her, but it was form fitting. With a curling iron, she styled her long hair with neat curls which probably won't last very long considering her hair is naturally straight. She isn't much of a fan of makeup either but she put on a few such as lipstick, blush and a bit of eye shadow.

As she put on her silver bracelets and her hoop earrings, Kana thought about what could happen on this date she's agreed to. She doesn't think anything too serious might happen but she hates not knowing what goes through that man's head. On minute he's a flirting womanizer and the next he's sweet and genuine. She never thought she'd agree to a date with him but deep inside—even though she hates to admit it—she's actually looking forward to it.

The doorbell's chime suddenly rung throughout the house and Kana found herself jumping and her movements got a bit quicker.

She made her way downstairs but did so slowly to catch a peek without being noticed. Her cousin answered the door, which somehow didn't surprise her, and her aunt wasn't too far away from the door either. Kana blinked and she couldn't explain why something struck her upon seeing Nishigaki at the doorway. He looked more handsome than usual; he wore black slacks with shiny, matching shoes and wore a black unbuttoned suit jacket over a simple royal blue dress shirt.

Kana blushed when her eyes met his own. His eyebrows went up but a soft smile graced his lips. Following his gaze, Naoki and Noriko turned to see Kana at the end of the stairs and put on her satin black heels.

"Kana, your hair's sticking out!" Noriko cried out and ran a hand over her hair attempting to fix it.

"Don't worry Irie-san," Nishigaki said suddenly, making everyone's attention turn to him. He smiled. "She looks beautiful."

Kana blushed while Noriko giggled and twirled happily. Naoki however, shot the older man a glare but said nothing.

"You two have fun!" Noriko pushed Kana and Nishigaki out the door and closed it. Kana sighed while Nishigaki chuckled and gestured at his car parked in front of the car. "Ready to go?"

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously as she walked down to his car. He opened the door for her and smiled. "It's a surprise,"

Kana rolled her eyes and sat in the car. Soon enough, Nishigaki sat at the driver's seat, turned on the car and began to drive down the street, heading for downtown Tokyo. Meanwhile, Kana sighed softly as her nose caught the scent of his intoxicating cologne which just enhanced the gorgeousness of this man. He may not know it, but he is the sole specimen of the 'tall, dark and handsome' man.

"Are you alright?" his voice suddenly said. Kana snapped back into reality and looked over at him. He was driving but they flashed towards her momentarily before returning to the road before him. "You're quiet."

"I'm fine," Kana said softly.

"You're thinking about something," he stated. Kana shrugged. "I'm just curious about where you're taking me."

"Something tells me that's not it," he stopped at a red light, so their eyes met this time. Kana sighed heavily. "I can't help but think that I'm just one of the many girls that you've been with and that I'm just like any one of them."

He sighed heavily at this and Kana looked away from his eyes. She felt something rush through her however, when he suddenly reached over and gently held her hand which rested on her lap.

"I figured you'd think that," he said. Kana slowly met his glance as he continued, "But I want you to know that the past is the past; I don't want you thinking about those things— I'm not thinking about your past boyfriends so I don't want you thinking about my past girlfriends."

Kana nodded. "I'm sorry about that…it's just—"

"I know and I don't blame you; especially with the way I've acted but I've promised myself to change,"

_And you have changed_, Kana thought, but spoke, "Again, I'm sorry; let's just try to enjoy dinner."

"Of course," he smiled and it made her heart flutter.

Suddenly, the loud honking of cars behind them interrupted their moment and Nishigaki let go of her to take the wheel and turn it to take another street. Sighing, Kana smiled and touched the top of her hand.

Soon, Nishigaki parked the car in the parking lot of a tall building. They walked inside and took the elevator to the top floor. Kana's eyes widened upon seeing the elegant restaurant. The windows that aligned the walls had a perfect view of the city below, which shone with its nighttime lights. The restaurant itself was dim, but the modern lamps hanging from the roof lit up the place comfortably.

"Reservation for Dr. Nishigaki," Nishigaki said as he approached the man at the podium. The man looked down and nodded with a smile. "Yes, right this way doctor,"

As he turned to lead them to their table, Nishigaki held out his arm. Kana understood the gesture and slipped her hand into the joint of his elbow. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Was the 'doctor' part necessary?"

Nishigaki chuckled. "It is, if not it takes longer for a reservation," he raised an eyebrow when Kana playfully glared at him. "Oh come on; I have the right to abuse my title once in a while."

"Here you are," the man said as he gestured at a table long one of the many windows. "A waiter will be with you momentarily."

"Thank you," Nishigaki said and the man bowed and went back to his post. Being the gentleman he is, he pulled back the chair for Kana before seating himself. He smiled at her from across the table. "So you like the place?"

"It's gorgeous," Kana looked around.

Soon enough, a waiter came by and took their orders. While they waited for the dinner to arrive, they drank some wine and talked about funny things that happened to them through the course of their lives.

"I remember that in my house there were only two bathrooms: the one in my parents' room and the one in the hallway," Nishigaki explained. "We wouldn't go into my parents' bathroom so it was a constant battle in the mornings—who can get in the bathroom first. My sisters, being girls, would all go into the bathroom and leave me outside and take forever in there. I had to wake up two hours earlier each morning just to pee."

Kana laughed. "It must have been hard living with three younger sisters,"

"Yeah; they would always color my manga because they thought they were coloring books but it was never their fault according to my mother," he rolled his eyes as he drank the last of his wine. Kana smiled. "Well, don't tell anyone I said this but my aunt used to dress Naoki up as a girl."

"You're joking," he smirked. Kana nodded. "Nope. She always wanted to have a girl so Naoki was the unfortunate one to be dressed as a girl."

"But doesn't she consider you to be a daughter to her?" he asked. Kana nodded. "Yeah but I was the type of child that you had to chase around to get to do something; I was kind of a crazy kid."

"That's hard to believe," he chuckled. Kana glared at him playfully. "At least I didn't play girly doctor with my sisters."

He laughed. "I knew you were going to use that against me at some point."

Their food came a while later and they continued to speak, but this time about their days in medical school.

"I remember I was doing a surgical practice and the procedure was to remove a failing kidney," Kana blushed from embarrassment but laughed. "I removed the kidney but it was my first time ever touching an organ so it slipped out of my hands and the professor happened to walk by at the moment and he slipped on it and fell."

Nishigaki laughed as Kana slapped her forehead. "That was the most embarrassing day of my life!"

"I can imagine," he chuckled and sat back on his chair, looking up in thought. "I don't think I ever had any problems in my classes—after all, I had the top score in my entire class," he smirked and Kana rolled her eyes, "Show off…"

"What? It's true," he smiled. Kana laughed. Soon, their meal was finished and after eating dessert and talking some more, the two finally got up and walked out of the elegant restaurant. Upon reaching his car, Nishigaki opened the door for her and smiled as he did so. Once he sat at the driver's seat, he turned on the car and drove out of the parking lot. They drove in silence but they caught each other's eyes from time to time.

Finally, Nishigaki reached the Irie house and after opening the door for her, he walked with her to the front door.

"So did you enjoy dinner?" he said softly. Kana smiled. "Yeah, I did,"

"Is there a next time?" he asked slowly. Kana smirked at him playfully. "Maybe; I'll think about it, Nishigaki."

He chuckled. "I'll see you at work then,"

"Good night," she said gently. He nodded as he started to slowly back up. "Good night Iri—" he was cut off when he nearly tripped and fell over a garden ornament. Kana gasped but laughed, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, yeah," he bent down and fixed the ornament before standing up straight and rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry about that…good night Irie,"

"Good night," she giggled. He nodded and opened the door of his car and stepped inside. Just as the car engines started, Kana closed the door behind her. She rested her back against it and sighed. Her heart was beating so fast and she could feel a bit of heat tinting her cheeks. She hates to admit it, but she actually enjoyed her date.


	19. Another Date?

Scribbling her signature on the paper, she clicked her pen and handed the clipboard to the nurse sitting at the reception desk. She smiled. "Thank you doctor,"

Kana nodded in response. Stuffing her hands into her lab coat's pockets, she walked through the hallways of the hospital. She finished her appointments much faster than she'd anticipated so now she had way too much free time on her hands unless an emergency pops up.

The hospital was calm and cheerful as family members of the patients visited them. As she walked, Kana noticed Kotoko walking along with Marina and Moto-chan in the hallway.

"Good morning guys," Kana greeted them. Kotoko smiled. "Good morning, Kana-chan."

"Good morning," Marina smirked. "I heard about the date."

"God, rumors really do spread fast in this hospital," Kana sighed. Moto-chan laughed. "Don't worry, Kotoko-chan only told us," he raised an eyebrow with a wide smirk. "How'd it go?"

"Joke's on me, I actually enjoyed it," Kana rolled her eyes. Kotoko giggled. "Are you giving him a chance?"

"I don't know," Kana shrugged her shoulders. Marina poked Kana's arm. "You should give him a chance; he's rich and gorgeous—"

"Is that all you're worried about?" Kana squinted suspiciously, but Marina pointed her thumb in the opposite hallway. "The doctor's in surgery if you want to see him…"

Kana groaned as the nurses laughed and quickly dashed down the hallway away from her. Kana rubbed her temple and sighed. So he's in surgery now; a small visit won't hurt. Besides, Naoki's probably with him so it won't too awkward…would it?

**o.O.o**

"Alright, I'm pretty sure you can take it from here, Irie," Nishigaki said as he withdrew his gloved hands from his patient suffering from appendicitis. The young intern nodded firmly. "I can; thank you."

Removing his gloved and mask, he exited the OR and entered the prep room. In his dark blue scrubs, he watched Irie in surgery through the glass as he washed his hands in the sink. He turned off the water and reached for the paper towels. As he dried his hands, he heard the door behind him open and close. He turned and had the air sucked out of him upon seeing Kana's form enter the room. Her hair was loose today, something rare to see since she always has it in a ponytail.

"Well hello there," Nishigaki smiled. Kana walked in and smiled. "Hi there; did you finish up?"

"I let Irie do the rest," Nishigaki gestured at the glass that showed her cousin in surgery. "It's not too hard though; the patient has appendicitis so he should be done in a few minutes,"

"Hmm," she hummed in understanding. Nishigaki smiled at her. "And how's your morning been?"

"Paperwork and appointments; the usual," she shrugged. He nodded slowly. "I see…" he trailed off and met her minty green eyes. They both smiled softly at each other.

"What?" Kana laughed shyly. He shrugged. "I never see you with your hair loose like that; I like it."

Kana smiled. Just then, the door leading to the OR opened, revealing none other than Naoki. Nishigaki raised an eyebrow and smirked while he crossed his arms over his chest. "Done that fast? I should go check and see if you did a sloppy job."

"You and I both know that's not true," Kana rolled her eyes. Nishigaki chuckled. "I'm just joking."

"Anyways," Irie cleared his throat as he turned on the water faucet to wash his hands. "Did you get those prescriptions signed yet?"

"Which ones?" the older doctor raised an eyebrow. Irie glared at him. "The ones I left on your desk."

"Was the paper pink?" Nishigaki squinted. Irie nodded. Nishigaki sighed and rubbed his temple. "I _knew_ I had something to do this morning; it slipped my mind."

"Get it done, Nishigaki," Irie glared at him again.

"Geez alright; I'll do it," the older doctor sighed heavily. Kana laughed. "You two have your roles reversed; Naoki give you the orders."

"He acts like a child," Irie rolled his eyes. Nishigaki pouted. "I do not!"

Kana laughed at their childish argument. Nishigaki smiled softly. "Well I have to follow the orders of my own intern and get those prescriptions done; I'll be seeing you." Just as he neared the door, Kana shrugged. "I have to get going too; I probably have some last-minute appointments to take care of."

Leaving a suspicious-feeling Naoki in the prep room, the two doctors made their way into the hallway. Kana was first to speak. "How come you forgot those prescriptions this morning?"

"Why do you ask?" Nishigaki blinked. She shrugged. "You normally follow my cousin's orders perfectly."

"Very funny," Nishigaki said sarcastically but sighed. "To tell you the truth, I was a bit tense this morning."

"Why?" Kana glanced up at him in concern. He smiled softly. "I was thinking about what I should say when I saw you."

Kana's cheeks flushed. He continued, "I enjoyed our date yesterday and I didn't want to say anything stupid that might ruin the 'next time'."

Kana smiled softly. "I enjoyed the date too and I'm…actually hoping for a next time."

Nishigaki looked stunned at what she said but his expression softened. "In that case; could I take you out again this weekend if we're not busy?"

Kana responded with a nod. "Where?"

Nishigaki looked up in thought for a few seconds. His grey eyes then widened and he smiled. "I have the perfect place but I want it to be a surprise,"

Kana grinned. "That's fine—"

"And wear something tropical; something comfortable," he added.

"You got it," Kana nodded.


	20. A Chance

Kana found herself looking at herself in the mirror once again. Today was a sunny Saturday and also the day that she agreed to a second date with Nishigaki. He instructed her to wear something comfortable and tropical, which leads her to believe it has something to do with the beach. So because of this, she stood in front of the mirror. She wore purple spaghetti strap tank top, mid-thigh shorts, and flip flops. Underneath this, she wore a two-piece brown and orange swimsuit just to add to the "tropical" dress code.

She smiled softly upon hearing the doorbell ring. She ran her fingers through her hair and fixed her side bangs before making her way down the stairs. She managed to make it down half of the stairs before her aunt open the door, beating Naoki. She opened the door only to reveal a surprised Nishigaki, who was startled at how quickly the door was opened, holding a bouquet of multicolored tulips.

"Good afternoon Irie-san," Nishigaki greeted her with a smile. He wore a linen button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, beige shorts and brown leather flip flops. His hair was the usual wavy black and his grey eyes gleamed behind his square glasses.

"Kana!" Noriko cried as she turned to see Kana at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh there you are! You don't want to keep him waiting~!"

Kana rolled her eyes at her aunt's childish antics and approached Nishigaki, who held out the bouquet of tulips to her. "These are for you," he smiled and added, "To compliment your eyes."

Noriko squealed happily at this and her both of her sons, who stood nearby, rolled their eyes and Kotoko grin. Kana smiled at this as she cradled the bouquet in her hands. "Thank you," she glanced at her daydreaming aunt and handed her the flowers. "Auntie, take these and put them in water please."

"Of course!" she took the flowers and shooed Kana and Nishigaki. "Now off you go! Have fun!"

And with that, the door was shut. Nishigaki chuckled. "Is she always like that?"

"Pretty much," Kana sighed heavily. The man smiled. "Shall we get going?"

Kana nodded and walked with him to the car. He opened the door for her and she sat down on the leather car seat. As soon as he sat at the driver's seat and turned on the car, he drove out of the quiet neighborhood and into the city of Tokyo. Kana snuck a peak at the man driving. His eyes were focused on the road in front of him but his eyes flashed momentarily towards hers. Kana immediately looked away and blushed when she heard his chuckle.

"Why'd you look away?" he asked, a smirk spreading on his handsome features. Kana smiled as she looked out the car window, watching the buildings pass by. "I was going to ask you if we were going to the beach but I didn't know how to ask."

"Excuses, excuses," Nishigaki smirked. "And to answer your question, it's _close_ to the beach."

"Hmm," she hummed in understanding. They drove silently through the city. Nishigaki took the highway and after about ten to fifteen minutes, Kana began to see palm trees and the bright blue ocean as the car drove over a bridge.

"We're almost there," Nishigaki said suddenly. Kana looked over at him and nodded, smiling. He smiled back and he drove through a street aligned with palm trees. Kana watched as Nishigaki turned the car into a parking lot. The shore with the sea's waves crashing against the perfect white sand was in the background of a wooden building decorated in the front with tropical flowers.

"Here we are," Nishigaki turned off the car. After opening the door for her, he led her into the tropical restaurant. When she walked in, she realized the restaurant was outdoors; the tables decorated with exotic flowers stood on a deck overlooking the ocean. There was a wooden ceiling over the deck to block out excess sunlight.

"Welcome," the woman at the front smiled. Nishigaki smiled back. "Hello; table for two?"

"Of course, right this way," she grabbed two menus from the podium she stood at and led them to the deck. The woman set down the menus, "A waiter will be with you in a moment."

Nishigaki pulled back Kana's chair and then he sat himself. He smiled as he watched her gaze at the ocean in the distance. The corner of his lips curled in a soft smile as he watched her hair blow in the direction of the sea breeze. He loved when her hair was loose; she looked so…

"This place is beautiful," Kana said suddenly, snapping him out of his daydream. Nishigaki raised his eyebrows with a smile. "I knew you'd like it."

The two ordered some piña coladas and an appetizer of shrimp cocktails and cheesy crab cups. As they ate the appetizers, Nishigaki realized Kana ate most of the food that was on the plates; but he started to notice that she loved it with a passion.

"You like seafood, don't you?" Nishigaki raised his eyebrows as he watched her eat the last crab cup. She smiled as she savored the taste of it before finally swallowing it. "I love seafood," she sipped at her drink and smiled. "You have to drag me out of a sushi bar."

"Then this was a good choice," Nishigaki chuckled. Kana nodded, drinking the last of the piña colada. "_Very_ good choice,"

Soon enough, the two of them ordered their food; Kana ordering a seafood pasta and Nishigaki ordering a parmesan-crusted salmon placed over white rice with vegetables and random selections of seafood.

"Uh, do you like this?" Nishigaki poked at a mussel shell on his plate. Kana's minty green eyes flashed over at him. She saw the mussel and blinked. "You don't like mussels?"

"Probably one of the things I won't eat," Nishigaki placed the shell on her plate. Kana looked at him in shock. "Have you tried them?"

"I don't think I will; it looks…" he trailed off. Kana shook her head. "Try it and maybe you'll like it."

"No, I don't think so," Nishigaki smirked. Kana's mouth gapped but she looked at her plate and snapped the shell in half. "You'll never know if you don't try it."

He remained silent at this and Kana smirked victoriously and took the mussel in the inside and placed it on her fork. "C'mon, try it."

Nishigaki rolled his eyes but was surprised when he saw Kana hold out the fork to him. "Give it a chance."

He remained silent, just eyeing her with no distinguished expression. However, he sighed and leaned over the table and ate the mussel from her fork. Kana watched him as he slowly chewed it but when his face twisted in disgust, Kana couldn't help but laugh.

Making disgusted grunts, he quickly took a napkin and placing it over his mouth, he spit it out. "God, that's horrible; why would you make me eat that?" He took his drink and slurped a decent amount to get the taste out of his mouth.

Kana laughed at this, which made him glare at her. "And you find this funny?"

"Hilarious," Kana giggled. Nishigaki sighed heavily.

After the meals were finished, Nishigaki helped Kana out of her seat. Doing so, he smiled at her. "Care for a walk on the beach?"

Kana looked up at him and smiled. "Sure."

They made their way out of the restaurant and stepped onto the warm white sand. The smell of the salty ocean hit her nose and the sea breeze swept at her hair. Almost as if by instinct, Kana slid her feet out of her flip flops and dashed over to the shore. The ocean was a perfect temperature and it was so clear, you could see every piece of sand on the floor. She kicked at the water and smiled to herself.

"A grown woman who's an accomplished doctor kicking around in the water—I never thought I'd see the day," Nishigaki laughed as he stood just out of the water's reach with his hands in his pockets.

Kana frowned at him playfully and bent down, scooped up some water and splashed it at him. He yelped in surprise. "Hey!"

Kana laughed. He chuckled and held out his hand to her. Kana understood the gesture and smiling shyly; she took his hand and walked out of the water. Her heart thumped against her chest as she neared his form and feeling the warmth of his hand holding hers. She slipped on her flip flops and began to walk with him along the shore. Their walk was silent and they would both catch each other glancing at one another and then look away.

Nishigaki suddenly cleared his throat in a suggestive way, making Kana glance over at him.

"Do you remember…that day that I asked you why you didn't like me?" he started. Kana recalled the memory. "Yes; why?"

"At first I didn't understand why you thought of me that way," Nishigaki sighed. "And now that I look back; I was an idiot for not realizing it."

Kana listened to this with curiosity. He continued, "I drove home that day wondering—thinking about what I was doing wrong," he stopped and looked at her in the eyes. "Then I took the next day off; I needed to think."

"So you were absent that day…" Kana's eyes widened in shock. Nishigaki nodded. "I couldn't get you out of my head—what you said to me and I realized that day…" he chuckled to himself, "sitting on my couch, that I really want to be with you and that the way I was acting wasn't going to get me anywhere—it wasn't going to win you over."

Kana ceased her eyebrows and her lips parted in surprise. Was she really hearing this?

"And now that I tell you this," he looked into her eyes. "I want you to consider being in a relationship with me," he continued, "I want you to give me a chance."

Kana's a doctor and she didn't even know how fast her heart was beating. She felt warmth at her cheeks as she watched his grey eyes swim with anticipation. Kana looked down to avoid his gaze; her mind looking for answers. _Should I give him a chance?_

"If you need time to think about it, that's fine," he said as he swallowed thickly, sounding somewhat upset by her silence.

"Actually," Kana found her voice and spoke. "I…I don't need to think about it."

His eyes flashed with mixed emotions as Kana met his grey orbs and smiled timidly. "I'll give you a chance, Nishigaki."

He remained silent; stunned at her reply. "R-Really?"

Kana nodded. "Yes; I mean it."

Nishigaki smiled in relief and let out a breath. He looked her in the eyes. "Thank you Irie,"

"Don't be so formal," Kana grinned. Nishigaki nodded. "Kana,"

She blushed at hearing her name from him. He cleared his throat nervously again. "You don't have to be formal with me either."

"I know, Touma," she smirked, which made his cheeks flush slightly. They both came to realize then and there that it was getting a bit late so the two doctors walked back and Nishigaki drove her back to the Irie residence, which by the time they got there; it was already dusk. Upon parking the car, he opened the door for her and walked with her to the front porch.

"I'll see you at work, Kana," he'll never get tired of saying her name.

Kana blushed, tip-toed towards him and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Judging by how wide his eyes were and his expression, he was surprised at this. Triumphantly, Kana smiled mischievously and turned to walk towards the front door. However, she suddenly felt a hand curl around her wrist. She turned to look back but was simultaneously pulled towards Nishigaki. His lips met hers in a flash and he wrapped his arm around her waist to bring her closer.

She clutched his shoulders in shock but the kiss was deep and irresistible, making her eyes involuntarily roll to the back of her head and kiss back. Just as fast as it happened, it ended and Nishigaki parted from her with a sigh. "I'll see you at work."

"Yeah…" Kana breathed dreamingly. He smiled and made his way back to his car. Kana sighed and supported herself on the wall of the house, left lightheaded and weak at the kiss this man gave her. She opened the door to the house and walked in, seeing stars. She doesn't regret giving him a chance.


	21. The News

Kana got different reactions upon telling her family about the news; her aunt shrieked in delight and hugged her, Kotoko was happy, Yuki was surprised, her uncle was happy and surprised at the same time and Naoki was indifferent, but Kana knew this was only what his exterior showed. He'd asked her if she was sure about this, but Kana responded that she decided to give him a chance and see how a relationship with Nishigaki might turn out. He seemed to respect her decision, but he was still a bit doubtful. Nonetheless, he will give Nishigaki even more orders when he's at work.

She arrived at the hospital that morning happy to be at work and a bit shy because she'll see Nishigaki. Irie went off to see his workload for the day and Kana made her way to the nurses' station with Kotoko, who was excited for Kana to tell the other nurses about her love affair with the handsome and charming Nishigaki.

"Good morning," Kana greeted the nurses as she walked into the room. Tomoko smiled. "Good morning!"

"Mornin'," Marina and Moto-chan greeted them.

"Any files for me to sign off?" Kana asked. Marina shook her head and looked through the various folders on the table. "Nope, sorry," she then pulled out a manila file from the bunch. "But I do have a file here for Dr. Nishigaki."

"Do you now?" Kotoko said in a suggestive tone. Kana glared at her but Marina continued unnoticing the insider between the two, "You're probably going to see him today; could you give it to him?"

"Sure," Kana took the file.

"Actually, that won't be necessary," a voice said from the doorway. "I'm right here."

Kana turned and saw Dr. Nishigaki standing at the doorframe, hands in his pockets. He smiled and walked in. "Good morning, ladies," he smiled at Kana and wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her closer to him. He then planted a kiss on her temple. "Good morning to you."

"This is yours," Kana held up the file. Chuckling, he took it and nodded with a smile at the nurses. "Keep up the good work."

Just as the doctor walked out of the nurses' station, all the nurses stared at Kana with wide eyes and gaping jaws. Annoyed at their reaction, Kana sighed. "Yes; it's official."

"Oh I knew you had a thing for him!" Moto-chan laughed. Kana sighed. "I don't! I'm just…giving him a chance…"

"Which translates to: 'I have a thing for him'," Marina smirked. "I knew you were going to fall for him at some point."

"Oh be quiet," Kana huffed with a blush as they all laughed.

Meanwhile, Nishigaki walked down the hallway reading through the file he'd just gotten from Kana. He smirked at the thought of her. She was still shy around him; he doesn't blame her—he himself was thinking on his drive to work how he should approach her this morning. However, he is a bit more outgoing than her when it comes to these matters. He made a mental note to not make Kana uncomfortable. Ruining his chances with her will devastate him.

"Nishigaki,"

The doctor stopped and looked to his left to see none other than Irie Naoki leaning against the wall. Nishigaki raised an eyebrow. "What's with the mystery, Irie?"

With his arms crossed over his chest, Irie got off the wall. "Kana told me yesterday."

"Did she now?" Nishigaki cradled the file under his arm. He knew where this was going; better get comfortable.

"As much as I don't want to, I respect her decision—better for her to go out with you than with some other jerk," he started. "And besides; I _am_ your intern for another year."

"That's a nice way to put it," Nishigaki's eyebrow twitched. "So in other words you're only dealing with me because you have to."

"I'm not done," he snapped with an icy glare. Nishigaki nodded. "Sorry, go ahead."

"I don't want Kana being one of your many pointless flings or a pawn in whatever game you're playing,"

"You have the wrong idea Irie; I care for Kana," Nishigaki told him truthfully.

"Let's just hope you do for your sake," Irie said sharply. Nishigaki smirked. "Is that a threat?"

He remained silent before turning on his heel and walking down the hallway. "You should be attending to your patients, Nishigaki."

"You should be acting more like an intern," Nishigaki muttered with a roll of the eyes.

"Did you say something?" Irie turned, which made Nishigaki jump and shake his head. "No, of course not,"

**o.O.o**

The hospital was quite busy today. Emergencies here and there popped up out of the blue which didn't allow anyone to sit down for a break. Kana was one of those that were dashing from one part of the hospital to the other attending to any in need. She currently sat on a bench in the garden of the hospital, getting fresh air while she filled out a patient's file.

A sudden form sat next to her on the bench and Kana couldn't help but smile. She turned her head and saw Nishigaki holding two cups of coffee. He held out the one in his left hand with a soft smile. She reached for it, but he pulled the coffee away and puckered his lips playfully.

Kana laughed. She leaned in and kissed him softly. He chuckled and handed held out the coffee cup again. "How's your day been?"

"Busy, like usual," she sipped at the steaming caffeine. "And yours?"

"Fine, but would've been better if I saw you more often," he smirked. Kana laughed and pushed him playfully. "Stop it,"

He chuckled. Kana glanced at him. "By the way, are you working the nightshift today?"

"Hopefully not," Nishigaki said. "Why?"

"Because my aunt wants you to come over for dinner tonight,"

Nishigaki smiled. "Oh but of course; I'll see if I can make it."

**o.O.o**

The night lazily rolled over the hospital and Kana was getting ready to leave.

"Is Dr. Nishigaki going to come over?" Kotoko asked as she organized her purse. Kana shrugged. "I don't know, he said he was going to find out," Kana looked up at her cousin, who had a sour look on his face. "Naoki, can you stop acting like a five year old?"

"Why do you say that?" he turned with a raised eyebrow. Kana rolled her eyes. "You're a bad liar, you know that?"

Suddenly, the door to the lounge opened, revealing none other than Nishigaki.

"Can you come?" Kana asked. Nishigaki smiled. "Yes but I'm on call."

With that, Nishigaki took the liberty of driving them to the Irie household. They didn't even have a chance to get out of the car before Noriko was at the door, waving excitably. "Welcome home!"

Kana and Naoki sighed heavily, Nishigaki snickered and Kotoko couldn't help but smile. Upon walking through the door and into the dining room, Nishigaki was surprised to see the table filled to the brim with food. They all sat down to eat. Nishigaki, being his charismatic self, held friendly conversations with Kana's uncle and received a few jabs from Irie, but he brushed them off with jokes. Kana felt at ease that Nishigaki was at least making a good impression on her family (excluding the successful doctor part) and was getting along just fine.

"So do you plan on marrying Kana?" Noriko asked suddenly with a grin. The clanking of silverware sounded throughout the table as shock formed on everyone's expression at her bold inquiry. Nishigaki swallowed roughly at the food in his mouth and coughed nervously. "Not to offend but I'm not planning on getting married; at least not now and neither does Kana."

"Auntie, we've barely gone out for a week; what kind of question is that?" Kana glared at her aunt. Noriko glanced at her. "Onii-chan and Kotoko-chan never properly dated and they're married!"

Kana slapped her forehead and Nishigaki smiled nervously. Suddenly, a beeping sound came from Nishigaki's form. Embarrassed, Nishigaki pulled his phone out of his pocket. "I'm sorry, but I have to take this."

"That's fine," Noriko blinked. Nishigaki pressed the button on the phone and placed it on his ear. "This is Nishigaki,"

There was a pause, and then he frowned, "Right now?"

Another pause, "Alright, I'll be there; keep her stable."

He ended the call and stood from his seat. "I'm very sorry but there's an emergency at the hospital; I need to go," he announced. "Thank you for the lovely dinner."

Kana stood and ushered him to the door. Kana opened it for him and he surprised her with a kiss on the lips. He smiled at her but said nothing and made his way to his car and drove out of the driveway. Sighing, Kana closed the door and made her way back into the house. She couldn't help but smile.


	22. A Scary-Dumb Movie

The sun was setting over the city of Tokyo. The hospital had been somewhat bust today as usual and doctors scurried from one place to another. Kana was mostly in the ER today since they were lacking staff so now she was heading back to her department to pack up and go home.

As she did so, she couldn't help but wander off and end up in Nishigaki's office. She opened the door slowly and saw him in there, head resting on his palm and his other hand writing down on his late paperwork. Kana smiled softly and entered the room. She knew he heard her come in, but apparently he refused to get distracted. He's a good doctor in the operation room, but when it comes to paperwork, he's the absolute worse.

"You know how many times I've told you to finish those the day you get them so you don't end up like this?" Kana said to him as she walked up behind him.

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry; it's just so time consuming. I hate it."

"Who doesn't?" Kana slid her hands onto his tense shoulders and rubbed soothingly. He sighed softly and relaxed against her touch. Kana smiled. "You're a bit stressed. You have a surgery tomorrow?"

"Yes; that new patient that came in yesterday was diagnosed with kidney stones and I have to remove them," he put the pen down and leaned back against the chair to further enjoy the massage. Kana raised her eyebrows and worked on the knots on his neck. "Why don't you go home and I'll finish the paperwork for you?"

"Thank you but I'm almost done," he looked up at her, which made him see her upside down, and gave her a smile. Kana returned the smile and leaned down, kissing him sweetly. "I'll wait for you."

"Sure; would you like to stay over at my place?" he asked. Kana thought about it. She hasn't slept over at his house since the day she was forced to stay due to the rain. However, she saw no harm in staying over.

"Ok, that's fine," she smiled.

The paperwork was soon finished and the doctors made their way to the parking lot, where they both headed out. On the way, she called her aunt to tell her she wasn't coming home and she's glad Nishigaki didn't hear what her aunt had implied discreetly. Sometimes she wonders how Naoki deals with her.

Nishigaki led her up to his apartment where he offered her the shower. Again, she was forced to wear one of his shirts but Nishigaki actually enjoyed it. He liked seeing her in his shirt; she looked cute. After he took a shower himself, he came out of the bathroom and caught her in the kitchen getting a glass of water. He sneaked up behind her and hugged her, which made her jump.

"Touma, you scared me!" she cried as she giggled. Nishigaki chuckled. "It's still a bit early; you want to watch a movie?"

"Which movie?" Kana asked. Nishigaki shrugged. "I have a few there; you can go ahead and check."

Nishigaki gestured at the TV in the living room. Kana walked over and pulled out a good amount of DVD boxes and looked though the titles. She picked one and after plopping it into the DVD player, Kana sat down next to Nishigaki and cuddled up against his warm chest, throwing her legs over his. He put his arm around her shoulders and hesitantly put the palm of his opposite hand on her knee.

It was a horror movie; a bloody one at that. Used to seeing such things, the couple merely winced at the man cutting off limbs and pulling hearts out (which looked fake, by the way). However, when the killer pulled out an unfortunate person's eye and let it hang by the optic nerve, Kana jumped and nuzzled her face into his chest to avoid looking at it. Nishigaki merely winced and squinted.

"That's gross," he commented. "Mind you, this isn't my movie; it's my sister's,"

"I didn't think it'd be _this_ bad," Kana peeked at the TV screen. Nishigaki chuckled. "It isn't, actually."

"Eww, a kidney doesn't move like that," Kana snickered. Nishigaki chuckled. "This movie's terrible,"

Kana laughed. "Won't your sister get mad if she finds out you said that?"

"I don't think Keiko even remembers this movie's here," he admitted. Kana nuzzled her cheek against his chest and yawned. "I'm tired…"

"You want to go to bed?" he asked, running his fingers through her long hair. Kana nodded slowly. "Yeah,"

Just as she moved to stand, Nishigaki slipped his arm under her knees and stood, carrying her which made her gasp. Nishigaki smirked at this and walked to the bedroom. He carefully placed her on the bed and the crawled in himself. She cuddled against her and kissed her forehead. "Good night, beautiful,"

"Good night, Touma," Kana smiled softly and closed her eyes. Nishigaki sighed and after closing his eyes, he fell into a comfortable sleep.


	23. Siblings

Brushing a strand of loose hair behind her ear, Karin read over the file in her hand as she walked down the hallway. She's become quite proficient at walking and reading; she weaves her way around crowds of people as if it were second nature. The hospital today was the usual. She hasn't done any surgeries so far but she's taken care of a her due appointments so for right now, she's just taking care of mundane tasks such as reading through files for the nurses and signing prescriptions. As for Dr. Nishigaki, she's scarcely seen him today except in the morning. He's been at a board meeting for most of the afternoon.

"Hi! You're a doctor right?" a cheery female voice called out from behind her. Kana looked up from her file and looked back. There was a girl about Kana's age standing there with a friendly grin on her face. She looked strangely familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She had straight light brown hair picked up in a ponytail and light brown eyes.

"Yes, I am," Kana replied. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I'm looking for a Dr. Nishigaki," she said. "Is he around?"

Kana blinked. "Not at the moment; he's in a meeting."

"Oh ok!" she smiled and waved as she turned to walk down the hallway. "Thanks anyway!"

Kana watched the girl go with a confused expression. What was that all about? And what did she want with Nishigaki?

She shrugged off the weird encounter and continued on her way. Soon enough, Kana arrived at the front desk of her department to turn in the file she signed when she saw, leaning over the front desk, the same girl. Kana sighed and approached her.

"Excuse me, I already told you that Dr. Nishigaki's in a meeting," Kana handed the nurse at the desk the file as she spoke. The girl turned her head, baffled at Kana's words.

"How'd you know I was looking for Dr. Nishigaki?" she asked. Kana frowned. "Because I saw you in the other hallway a minute ago,"

The girl laughed. "Oh I'm sorry, that was—"

"Hey sis," another girl approached. This girl had wavy black hair and grey eyes. Kana stared at her with wide eyes. This girl she recognized.

"Haruhi-san?" she questioned. Both girls' heads perked up in shock. The girl with the wavy hair blinked, "Have we met before?"

"No; not yet at least," Kana smiled. She then turned to the other girl. "And you must be either Miyuki or Keiko."

She laughed. "I'm Keiko—but how do you know who we are?"

"I…I know your brother," Kana hesitated a bit. Haruhi smiled. "Well I'm not surprised; Touma probably has every girl here wrapped around his finger."

"Yeah…" Kana rolled her eyes in embarrassment.

"Keiko! Haruhi!" the three women turned to see a girl that looked exactly like Keiko run up to them with a pouty face. "I haven't found onii-chan!"

"Calm down, we'll find him," Haruhi told her sister. Miyuki glanced over at Kana and smiled. "Hey, you're the doctor I saw in the hallway!"

"Nice to meet you," Kana nodded. Haruhi gestured at Kana while she looked at Miyuki. "She knows Touma,"

"Really?" she girl jumped up and down excitably. "Where is he?"

"He was in a meeting last time I checked," Kana told them. "But I can check for you if he got out."

That being said, Kana led the girls to the nurses' station. Kana didn't see any of her close friends there, but she saw the head nurse and asked if Nishigaki had passed by. The nurse told her he'd passed by to pick up some folders and left to check on a patient a hallway away. Kana led the girls to where he supposedly was and were lucky to find him exiting the patient's room.

"Onii-chan!" Miyuki and Keiko cried and bolted for the man. He only had a chance to turn before almost being tackled by the twins. He was surprised for a moment as he looked down at the two girls hugged his torso but it wasn't long before a smile graced his features and he hugged them off their feet.

"What are you two doing around here?" he asked as he put them down. One of the twins smiled happily. "We came to visit you!"

"Don't forget about me," Haruhi stepped forward. Nishigaki glanced over at her and smiled. "I was just about to ask where you were."

"Of course you were," Haruhi rolled her eyes and pulled him into a hug. He chuckled. "Is the brother-in-law still mad at me—"

"For shoving cake in his face?" Haruhi gave him a playful push. "Yes, he is."

"It was an accident!" he pouted.

Kana watched the scene with a smile. Its heartwarming how well Nishigaki gets along with his sisters; it's obvious they're very close to each other.

"…she brought us to you," Haruhi's voice brought Kana out of her thoughts. Her eyes met with Nishigaki's, who was smiling. "Really? Do you know who she is?"

"A doctor that works with you?" Miyuki guessed. Nishigaki smiled and walked over to Kana and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "There's that but her name's Kana—she's my girlfriend."

All three girls blinked. Haruhi cleared her throat and slowly asked, "Is she…for real…?"

"Yes," Nishigaki clipped in a very annoyed tone and Kana held back a laugh. Even his sisters know him as the ruthless womanizer.

"Aww!" Miyuki grinned. "I wish you would've told me sooner! I would've hugged her too!"

**o.O.o**

"You're a lucky girl, Kana," Haruhi said softly as she took a sip of her drink. Kana looked over at the young woman and smiled. They were currently in a sushi bar not too far from the hospital. While they sat in a separate table, Nishigaki and the twins were at the front counter arguing playfully on which sushi to order.

"Why would you say that?" Kana asked.

"Because Touma is a really charming man; I don't know what I'd do without him," Haruhi looked back at her siblings. "And he's changed since I last saw him; I can tell he's actually committed to you."

"Well, he worked hard for it," Kana laughed. "I was kind of stubborn."

"That's good," Haruhi nodded. "All the women have always come easy to him but you were the rose in the tulip garden."

Kana smiled softly as she glanced at Nishigaki again. Haruhi saw her glance and leaned over the table. "Do you love him?"

Kana shrugged, still glancing at him. "I don't know—I'm happy with him though."

"Sure looks like it," Haruhi smiled. Kana only smiled. "Yeah,"


End file.
